Kenyan food, water scarcity will worsen as rains fail, Met Department says

Kenya food shortages and water scarcity are set to worsen after the long rainy season failed, the meteorological department has said.

Kenya Meteorological Department director Stella Aura warned that  the long rains period between March and May has fallen far below the long-term average for the period.

“Based on the current conditions and the expected weather conditions, dry conditions are likely to dominate most parts of the country, leading to further decline of food security and water resource,” she said in a statement.

“Areas affected by the drought conditions will require interventions to support livelihoods.”

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network blames the failure of Kenya’s long rains on tropical cyclone Idai, which redirected moisture away from the region.

Affected areas will require interventions.

Hundreds of thousands of people still need aid after Idai battered Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi in March.

More than 1,000 people have been reported killed by the storm, the flooding it caused and heavy rains before it hit.

The World Bank has also trimmed its forecast for Kenya’s economic growth to 5.7 percent from 5.8 percent following the prevailing condition.

Farming, including tea, flowers and coffee exports account for close to a third of annual economic output.

The government said last month 1.1 million Kenyans, mainly in the arid counties of Turkana, Marsabit, Isiolo, Tana River and Garisssa, need humanitarian food assistance.