Horn Countries Need Paradigm Shift to Avert Looming Drought - ENA English
Horn Countries Need Paradigm Shift to Avert Looming Drought
Addis Ababa May 28/2019 With prolonged and severe dry spell prediction, a paradigm shift is needed for countries in the Greater Horn of Africa to avert the imminent drought in the region, according to World Metrological Organization (WMO).
Director for Climate Prediction and Adaptation at World Metrological Organization (WMO), Maxx Dilley told ENA that a well-planned approach that focuses on reducing the impacts of drought is crucial now to curb the vulnerability.
He stated that “the region has very variable climatic condition; June to September is a tricky season where we are going to see below normal rain fall in some regions and in elevated is above normal.”
Maxx, therefore, recommended for saving water and planting drought tolerating crops in areas where the forecast has high probability for dry conditions in the Horn.
Appreciating Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s 4 billion Trees Planting Initiative, he said the initiative is part of protecting green house gas emission which helps to ease the impact of climate change.
According to the World Agricultural and Food organization (FAO) more than 15 percent of natural disaster damages and losses are caused by drought.
Drought accounts for over 85 percent of livestock losses and is the most lethal natural hazard to livestock, FOA revealed.
IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Center (ICPAC) Director, Guleid Artan, said there will be a drought in this season due to below average rain fall in parts of the Greater Horn of Africa region.
Parts of Ethiopia in Amhara, Northern Oromia, Benshangul-Gumuz, Sudan and Eritrea are forecasted to receive below average rain fall in the June-September season, he added.
“So there is a drought and there is high likelihood that El Nino is developing in our forecast and our message is intended for policy makers and others to plan on ways of reducing the looming impact,” he pointed out.
The adoption of national drought policies that are focused on risk reduction and which are harmonized by drought mitigation plans at various levels of governments will have significant ripple effects across the region, he added.
Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and Tanzania are members of the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Center.