Committed to Ending Drought Emergencies

NDMA is an agency of the Government of Kenya mandated to establish mechanisms which ensure that drought does not result in emergencies and that the impacts of climate change are sufficiently mitigated.

Committed to Ending Drought Emergencies

NDMA is an agency of the Government of Kenya mandated to establish mechanisms which ensure that drought does not result in emergencies and that the impacts of climate change are sufficiently mitigated.

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Launch of Drought Risk Management and early warning information campaign in Turkana County  

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Due to some off-season rains received in July, the vegetation greenness has improved in many counties /sub-counties. Now, the overall drought situation across the 23 ASAL counties is better. Even though some semi-arid counties have returned within the normal ranges for the period, the irregular distribution of rains have occasioned poor or very poor crop yields with evident reduction of households’ food stock.

However, Isiolo, Wajir, Tana River, Kajiado, Garissa, Turkana, Marsabit and Laikipia counties have significant vegetation deficits.

Click this link Vegetation Condition Index as at July 21, 2017 for county specific VCIs.

Environmental conditions have improved on the previous month in some parts of the region, particularly at the coast, but the underlying recovery from the long rains has been limited. All but two pastoral counties report unusual livestock migration, and in two-thirds of counties the average distances to water and grazing are already longer than normal.  The outlook for the next three months is worrying. Livelihoods are already under significant stress which will only deepen as the dry season unfolds and conditions inevitably deteriorate.

Get details on drought status in the National Drought Early Warning Bulletin - July 2017.

Detailed reports of the drought situation in each of the 23 arid and semi-arid counties are available in the county-specific Drought Early Warning Bulletins.

 

 

Significant improvements have been recorded in a few sub-counties that received some rainfall at the end of May and part of June, but the general drought situation across the ASAL region is still dire. Drought is particularly severe in Isiolo and part of Wajir (West and South); Turkana and Tana River but the situation has partially improved in Marsabit though it remains critical in N. Horr. In Garissa county, Balambala and Lagdera sub-counties have a severe vegetation deficit. Though some counties are almost within normal ranges, most counties record vegetation deficits that are expected to significantly affect the livelihoods of households more exposed to drought hazards, especially if the next short rains have a late onset.

Click this link Vegetation Condition Index as at June 26, 2017 for county specific VCIs. 

The 2017 long rains mid-season assessment has estimated that between 3 million to 3.5 million people in the pastoral, agro-pastoral and marginal agricultural areas will require assistance. Poor crop performance is expected over most parts of the country especially in the southeast and coastal areas while poor regeneration of range resources across most of the pastoral zones is likely to result in their rapid deterioration from June hence a likelihood of more livestock mortality during the peak of the lean season.

2017 LRA Mid-Season Assessment Report

The long rains have ended, but many parts of the ASALs are still experiencing a significant deficit in vegetation condition, long distances to water, unusually high food prices, and worrying levels of malnutrition. While there have been some modest improvements on the previous month in some areas – illustrated by the fact that more counties this month are in the alert drought phase than in alarm –conditions are generally far from normal and any recovery is likely to be short-lived. A difficult dry season stretches ahead, particularly for pastoral counties.

Get details on drought status in the National Drought Early Warning Bulletin - June 2017.

Detailed reports of the drought situation in each of the 23 arid and semi-arid counties are available in the county-specific Drought Early Warning Bulletins.

The Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) as at May 29, 2017 confirms that the rainy season has not been sufficient to enable recovery of vegetation greenness from the previous drought. Although there are some improvements from the previous month (end of April), the overall situation is quite critical. Though the vegetation greenness usually recovers to normal by the end of the rainy season, many counties/sub-counties continue to experience severe deficit.  This spells a difficult period for arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) during the forthcoming dry season.

In addition to the usual drought response activities by various sectors, there is need to support conflict resolution/negotiations in hotspots where large numbers of livestock are currently converging to access areas with better grazing resources.

 

Click this link Vegetation Condition Index as at May 15, 2017 for county specific VCIs. 

 

The Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) as at mid-May (15th of May) clearly shows that in almost all ASAL counties, the vegetation conditions are still well below the normal ranges for the period. The situation could improve in those areas that have received some good rainfall in the last two weeks (e.g. coast region). In general the prognosis for the next dry season is negative because, at this time of the year, most of the rangelands are expected to have recovered. If additional rains are not received in May/June, another critical dry season will set in, considering that the coping capacity of households has been strongly affected by the long drought spell experienced in the last several months. 

Click this link Vegetation Condition Index as at May 15, 2017 for county specific VCIs.