The crisis that no one sees: when the land dries up and the cattle fall
The images are harsh. Emaciated cattle on the arid border between Kenya and Somalia. They are the starkest postcard of an emergency that already has more than two million people in a situation of hunger, according to the United Nations.
“The rainy season that runs from October to December was one of the driest on record,” warns the UN health agency.
For ranching communities in the northeast, animals are the first to die. It is a brutal blow to their economy and their way of life. This is not new, but it is worse.
A pattern that repeats (and intensifies)
The memory hurts. Between 2020 and 2023, millions of animals died in this same region. Now, the Horn of Africa has gone four consecutive wet seasons without significant rain.
Parts of eastern Kenya recorded their driest level since 1981. In Mandera county, bordering Somalia, the “alarm” has already been declared: critical water shortage, death of livestock and physical exhaustion in minors.
The crisis knows no borders. It extends to Somalia, Tanzania and even Uganda.
In southern Somalia, an assessment by the Islamic Relief group revealed “shocking food shortages as families flee deteriorating conditions.”
There, more than three million have abandoned their homes. In camps for internally displaced people, such as in Baidoa, 70% survive on one meal or less a day. Children show “visible signs” of the problem.
The great climate injustice
Experts have no doubt: this is a direct consequence of climate change.
The Indian Ocean is warmer, fueling destructive storms. At the same time, droughts are longer, more intense and more severe. It is a lethal combination for those who depend on agriculture and livestock.
And here is the cruelest paradox:
Africa contributes only between 3% and 4% of global emissions… but it is one of the continents most exposed to their effects.
Less equipped to deal with natural disasters, the region sees its livelihood evaporate along with the water. Pastures disappear, crops die and with them, hope.
This is not just news about the weather. It’s a story about real families watching their world dry up before their eyes, while the world looks the other way.
