Flash flooding from heavy rains killed dozens and affected 300,000 people in Ethiopia and Somalia in March 2023. “Normally, the long rains begin in Kenya and move north to Ethiopia and Somalia,” said Caroline Wainwright, a climate scientist at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom. Ethiopia and Somalia have had five failed rainy seasons since late 2020, which have displaced 1.4 million Somalis and killed 3.8 million livestock. In fact, the research team’s analysis of climate projections found that the short rains could deliver more rainfall than the long rains by 2030–2040. More than 1,000 hectares of cropland have been swamped by recent rains, challenging the agricultural economies in Ethiopia and Somalia.

Source: Ethiopian News May 12, 2023 16:58 UTC