El Niño Effect in Ethiopia
The Ethiopian government estimates that 10.2 million people are in need of food assistance, due to a drought that’s been exacerbated by El Niño.
Farmers in Ethiopia usually harvest two-grain crops a year, and problems started during the smaller “belg” season, when rains were about half the average from March to May. Erratic precipitation throughout the summer mean that the main “meher” harvest in most eastern areas also will be well-below average, according to the US Agency for International Development’s Famine Early Warning Systems Network.
30 per cent of the Ethiopian population subsists on less than $US1.25 ($1.76) a day, with rising prices worsening the situation as families are forced to skip meals and sell belongings.
In March 2016 I travelled 3906km by road in Ethiopia to document the effects El Niño.
Note:
El Niño is the name given to a periodic heating to the eastern tropical Pacific, which alters weather patterns globally. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the current El Niño is one of the strongest events recorded, which is pushing people already suffering from the effects of climate change deeper into poverty and making them more vulnerable.
March 2016.
