Factsheet: Climate Change – Drought, El Nino and impact on Zimbabwe agriculture - ZimFact
Ngoni Mhuruyengwe
November 13, 2023
Zimbabwe and several other Southern African countries are expected to suffer drought conditions in the annual rain season from October 2023 to April 2024, which coincides with the regional summer cropping season, according weather scientists. The forecast drought conditions are traced to a weather pattern called El Niño, which has traditionally badly affected farming production in Zimbabwe.
El Niño refers to a cycle of warming and cooling events that happens along the equator in the Pacific Ocean leading to an increase in sea surface temperatures across the Pacific. The warming phase of the phenomenon called El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) stimulates drought conditions. ENSO creates both dry and hot conditions that negatively affect food crops. The cooling part of the cycle is called La Niña and has the opposite effect.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says that El Niño conditions have developed in the tropical Pacific for the first time in seven years, setting the stage for a likely surge in global temperatures and disruptive weather and climate patterns. The WMO statement came on the eve of Zimbabwe’s summer cropping season.
In February 2016, former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe declared “ A state of disaster” following a drought triggered by El Niño, which left 2.44 million people struggling for food. The following was the recorded impact:
World Meteorological Organisation
https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/world-meteorological-organization-declares-onset-of-el-ni%C3%B1o-conditions
International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies
Oxfam
Initiatives to boost resilience towards El Niño in Zimbabwe’s rural communities
https://reliefweb.int/organization/ifrc
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