“In the past 40 years arid climate regions in Kenya have expanded from 72 to 81 percent, a roughly 50,000-km2 shift from humid and semi-humid-to-semi-arid to arid regions. While tropical climate regions expanded from 91 to 93 percent with over 13,000km2 shifting from high-altitude and temperate regions to tropical ones,” say the research team that analysed Kenya’s geographic distribution and arrangement of climate zones between 1980 and 2020. Read: Base technology for Africa on the best scienceAgricultural casualtyOverall, more than 36 percent of all of Kenya’s area experienced either shifts in precipitation zones only, shifts in temperature zones only, or shifts in both temperature and precipitation zones. It also said the findings highlight the urgent need for adaptation strategies that take into account the impacts of shifting climate zones on food security. Human-induced climate change significantly alters the spatial-temporal patterns of climate zones, driving agricultural land use and ecosystem change.

Source: Daily Nation May 02, 2023 19:32 UTC