El Nino worsens climate crisis and food insecurity

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The El Nino climatic phenomenon, which exacerbates the effects of the climate crisis at the global level, leads to more frequent and more intense droughts, floods and tropical cyclones.

These significant changes in weather patterns have a severe impact on agriculture, on which 70% of the population of southern Africa depends for their livelihood . The region has experienced severe drought conditions, which has pushed millions of people into hunger.

Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe have declared national emergencies due to drought. Nearly five million people in the worst-affected countries need help.

"Of the three main drivers of hunger, namely conflicts, economic shocks and climate extremes, the climate dimension is the one that can be predicted most reliably, and this also applies to droughts and floods related to El Niño So we have what it takes to predict these damaging events We have what it takes to protect lives before they need to be saved. "It's about making these systems and processes accessible and available, including in fragile contexts where people are generally disconnected from these services.", explained_Gernot Laganda, Director, Climate and Resilience, World Food Program (WFP). 

In other regions, the El Niño weather phenomenon contributed to heavy rains and flash floods, affecting almost 850,000 people in Kenya, Somalia, Burundi and Tanzania.

Crops were destroyed, livestock died and people were displaced. 

As the climate cycle is expected to end around mid-2024 and transition to neutral conditions, effects on crops and livelihoods are expected to persist for months, and additional effects are expected with the potential arrival of La Niña, the cooling phase of the climatic phenomenon.