Why drought in somalia

Crops failed. It was harder to keep livestock alive. Communities once again were plunged into crisis and today, food is a constant struggle for many.

Sowdhe told me he has witnessed a change in drought patterns over the years. Pastoralists normally rely on two rainy seasons observed each year in Somalia: the Gu - or long rains between April and June - and the Deyr, or short rains between October and December.

However, he cannot remember the last time these seasons were consistent, and if anything, the rains have been low or failed to fall at all.

He told me that while there has been some rainfall in recent weeks, but it has been below what was expected and needed, leading to a shortage of water and food. We haven't had time to recover and the rains have been continuing to decrease every single season. Our teams cannot make the rains come, but they are doing what they can: Sowdhe, Bahile, and more than 9, families in Galgaduud are receiving cash that we hope will help them meet their most pressing needs.

We are doing this across 11 regions, reaching some , people with cash and will then follow up with seeds and planting tools and other initiatives to help people recover. I can't help but think about the future of these communities. Can Sowdhe's remaining livestock and those of other pastoralists survive another drought?

Will the seasonal rains ever return? Or are climate shocks the new norm for Somalia? She pauses for a moment. I imagine that she may be recalling a time when the rains were not as scarce as they are today. She then appears to return to the present and continues. By entering this website, you consent to the use of technologies, such as cookies and analytics, to customise content, advertising and provide social media features. This will be used to analyse traffic to the website, allowing us to understand visitor preferences and improving our services.

Learn more. I accept. Toggle navigation Donate. Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble called for urgent assistance for the affected people during an emergency meeting about the situation with some members of his cabinet. He said his government has decided to step up humanitarian efforts to save the livelihoods of those affected by the worsening drought in Jubbaland state, noting there is a scarcity of water and food.

He said he wants to send his appeal to U. According to OCHA, funding for humanitarian aid has dipped to its lowest point in five years. The U. Search Search. Home United States U.

And from there it would only get worse. In fact, since , Somalia has had only one proper rainy season, in , with all other years falling far short of the norm of two rainy seasons per year. Conflict and displacement prevent us from getting accurate hunger data for Somalia, but there is significant cause for concern.

Fighting disrupts access to food, and over 2. The carcasses of hundreds of dead sheep and goats litter the landscape in Somaliland, a self-declared, autonomous region of Somalia, as pasture and water supplies disappear across the Horn of Africa. Photo: Kieran McConville. Situated in the Horn of Africa, Somalia is mostly arid, as monsoon winds lose their moisture by the time they reach the area.

It was the worst drought for 60 years and triggered an official declaration of famine. International donors and governments were slow to release funds in response to the famine declaration and this hampered the humanitarian response. While many lives were saved, an estimated , were lost during the famine between and Half of them were children under the age of 5.

As countries like Somalia accept that many effects of climate change are irreversible despite the fact that they often have the least to do with causing climate change. Preventative work is the only way to get out of the cycle of crisis-and-response.

In , Concern began working with farmers to rehabilitate eroded land and implement rainwater harvesting techniques so that disasters, when they strike, are minimized. In , we launched our Farmer Field Schools program. New arrivals to Mogadishu, Somalia, rest on open ground.

The number of families being displaced by drought and hunger are steadily increasing. When the water has come, most of it races off the dry earth rather than soaking into the ground. But once again, for the seventh straight season, their hopes would be dashed by more meager rainfall.