GENEVA (Reuters) – The Horn of Africa is likely to experience drier than average weather conditions over the October-December period, as the region already experiences its worst drought in more than 40 years, the Organization said on Friday. World Meteorological Service (WMO).
The latest WMO outlook confirms the fears of humanitarian organizations which for months have been warning of the worsening consequences of drought in Ethiopia, Somalia and parts of Kenya, including a risk of famine in Somalia.
“Unfortunately, our models show with a high degree of confidence that we are entering the fifth missed rainy season in the Horn of Africa,” said Guleid Artan, director of the IGAD Center for Climate Prediction and Applications. (ICPAC), the WMO Regional Climate Center for Eastern Africa.
“In Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, we are on the brink of an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” he added.
The drought coincides with a global rise in food and fuel prices, driven by the war in Ukraine, which has hit parts of Africa harder.
The World Bank said in June that about 66.4 million people in the Horn of Africa region are expected to experience food insecurity or crisis, emergency or famine by July. More recent estimates were not immediately available.
“WHO is very concerned about this situation. Indeed, it is leading many families to take desperate measures to survive,” World Health Organization spokesperson Carla Drysdale said during a briefing. press in Geneva.
(Reporting Emma Farge; additional reporting Elias Biryabarema in Kampala; French version Alizée Degorce, editing by Kate Entringer)
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