As East Africa faces its ongoing drought challenges, the dwindling resources can sometimes cause unusual impacts to wildlife. That was the case in Kenya last week, when two elephants got stuck in the mud that was left behind as water levels became low at a dam near the Tanzanian border….
Mauritania is facing its worst drought conditions since 2012, and faring more poorly than all Sahel nations that have seen rainfall deficits across the last decade, according to a new report from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). At least 34 of 48 regions are…
People living in southern Angola are experiencing the worst drought in 40 years, with many crossing the border into Namibia in search of resources and relief after consecutive years of below-average rainfall affecting their crops. The International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) says the Angolan provinces of Huila, Cunene…
President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire has announced US$2.3 billion in funding for the Abidjan Initiative, a five-year plan to combat land degradation and deforestation in the West African nation. Ouattara presented the launch of the program during opening remarks at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention…
With what is now the perhaps unavoidable 2°C in global warming, and as early as 2050, southern Africa will see increases in drought and dangerous fire weather with impacts to agriculture, forestry, health and ecosystems. North Africa will see dry conditions too, as will the western Sahel region. If there’s…
In Mali, it’s the security crisis that’s contributing to the population’s hunger. In Kenya, a combination of floods and the ongoing fight against desert locusts are driving food insecurity, while Zimbabwe continues to struggle with high food prices in an uncertain economy. All told there are 34 African nations that…
Aid workers in Angola are appealing for help in the country’s south, where they say climate change is causing a crisis for up to 2.3 million people. Paolo Balladelli of the United Nations said that’s how many people were affected at the height of this year’s drought. “Temperatures in 2019…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
International aid organization Oxfam says more than 15 million people in the Horn of Africa region need assistance because of an ongoing drought, with lives at risk because lessons learned from drought conditions earlier this decade are being ignored. Parts of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are affected again after sparse…
Namibia’s government plans to auction off some of the wildlife living in its national parks because of the severe drought affecting the southwest African nation – a drought that has left them without water and vegetation to sustain them. Stanley Simataa, the country’s information minister, made the announcement during a…
Experts with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warn that severe drought conditions in Somalia may leave 18 percent of the population facing severe food insecurity this year. Rains in the southern growing areas never arrived in April and early May, the heart of the “gu” rainy season…
The University of Cape Town (UCT) is leading a project to measure the long term effects of humans on global warming, with a view toward reducing impacts on Africans and Global South populations. UCT African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI) director Professor Mark New is co-leader of a team that…
A wildfire in South Africa threatened a popular tourist landmark on Sunday, as fire crews battled flames hoping to contain the spread before it forced evacuations in neighboring Cape Town communities. The fire broke out on the slopes of Lion’s Head mountain, a 669-meter peak known as a hiking destination…
More than 60 million people were affected by extreme weather and natural hazards last year, including floods in Nigeria and drought in Kenya, according to an analysis of 281 events. Flooding continues to impact the most people – more than half the total, although earthquake and tsunami accounted for the…
There’s a direct link between climate change and public health in Lesotho, according to the findings of an intriguing study from ICAP at Columbia University in the United States and its partners. The authors led by Dr. Andrea J. Low, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Columbia Mailman School…
Nations in North Africa need to become more proactive in preventing drought before it happens in what is one of the world’s most water-scarce regions. That’s according to a report released Friday by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), released in conjunction with World Day to Combat Desertification and…