What's New

According to a recent FEWS.net alert, Mozambique is currently facing severe drought and food insecurity through much of the country as a result of El Niño-driven weather patterns.Weather forecasts predict that El Niño conditions will continue to cause below average rainfall in southern and parts of central Mozambique for the remainder of the season; the northern part of the country will likely see average to above average precipitation.

Severe drought, driven by the current El Niño cycle , continues throughout Africa south of the Sahara, and South Africa is one of the countries being hardest hit. According to a new policy brief from the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP), South Africa’s total rainfall in 2015 was the lowest national annual precipitation seen by the South African Weather Service since 1904.

Regional Updates from FEWS.net

Ethiopia is currently experiencing the worst drought in 30 years, as failed spring rains combined with El Nino conditions to severely weaken the summer harvests that feed 80-85 percent of the country.  However, experts have been quick to emphasize that the current situation will in no way reach the crisis levels seen during the 1984 drought and subsequent famine.

The 2015-2016 El Niño cycle could bring significant flooding to areas of the eastern Horn of Africa, according to a new FEWS Net Alert released this week. Southern Ethiopia, eastern Kenya, and south-central Somalia are among the areas likely to be affected. FEWS NET warns that the situation could mirror the El Niño-driven floods and subsequent food insecurity seen in 1997, when flooding displaced close to 2 million people throughout the region and led to widespread crop and livestock loss.