{"id":244724,"date":"2025-03-05T16:52:37","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T21:52:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewaterproject.org\/community\/?p=244724"},"modified":"2025-07-22T16:14:33","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T20:14:33","slug":"understanding-drought-in-southeast-kenya-causes-and-effects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewaterproject.org\/community\/2025\/03\/05\/understanding-drought-in-southeast-kenya-causes-and-effects\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Drought in Southeast Kenya: Causes and Effects"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Drought can affect any region, but in The Water Project\u2019s service areas, nowhere feels its impact more deeply than Southeast Kenya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past, this region followed a predictable rainy season cycle<\/a>, with one rainy season March through May and another October through December. The steady tempo of this incoming water supply allowed farmers to plan their crops and communities to collect and store water efficiently.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A visual representation of the wet and dry seasons in Southeast Kenya.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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But recent years have seen significant disruptions<\/a> to this predictable pattern. The rains don\u2019t always come, or they arrive in bursts too short and unpredictable to support agriculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Droughts \u2014 prolonged dry seasons that stretch beyond their usual cycles \u2014 are becoming more frequent and severe. In 2023, for instance, the Horn of Africa faced its worst drought in 70 years<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cornelius Kyalo, Executive Director of The Water Project\u2019s Southeast Kenya Program, shared his experience of how rainfall has impacted these counties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201c30 \u2013 40 years ago, the rainfall and dry seasons used to start and end at the right time. As a result of climate change and variability, the frequency of famines\/drought cycles in the area [has increased] from 20 years, to 12 years, to two years, and currently almost to an annual phenomenon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRainfall seasons have become erratic and unreliable with poorly distributed rainfall while the dry seasons have become longer, resulting [in] an increase in the frequency of droughts.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

And the data backs up what Cornelius is saying, as the World Bank Climate Risk Country Profile for Kenya<\/a> explains: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cExtreme rainfall events are occurring with greater frequency and intensity. Increased aridity and droughts have also been observed, with moderate drought events recorded on average every three to four years and major droughts every ten years. Since 2000, prolonged droughts have become more common.\u201d<\/p>\nWorld Bank<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

How Drought Disrupts Life: Doreen\u2019s Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We’ve seen firsthand the devastating effects drought has on families, farms, and communities. But rather than list those effects, we’d like you to see them through Doreen\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Doreen carries a jerrycan of water on her shoulder.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Doreen lives in the Syandu Community of Kitui County, described by Field Officer Alex Koech as \u201c…mostly bare, rocky, and dusty due to the immense drought in the area, complemented by erratic rainfall. The residents use dusty murram (gravel) roads and cracked footpaths when going to fetch water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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The dry landscape in Syandu.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Every morning of her life, 25-year-old mother Doreen has woken knowing that water will dictate her entire day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the rainy seasons, Doreen collects rain from her roof or water from a nearby river. But now, the riverbed near her home has been dry for months. She has no choice but to walk several miles to the next available water source, hoping to find water at the bottom of a scoop hole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she arrives, she\u2019s never alone. As drought grips the region, more and more people crowd the scoop hole, waiting for their turn to collect its brown, salty water.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Doreen collects water from the bottom of the scoop hole using a hollow gourd.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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\u201cSometimes one has to wait for water to accumulate in the scoop hole, which takes longer during the drought period because many people depend on the scoop hole,\u201d Doreen explains. \u201c[The water] diminishes in quantity as the drought progresses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time she returns home, hours have passed. And, often, Doreen has to turn around and walk right back to the scoop hole. One container of water is just not enough to sustain a family and a farm for a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Doreen finally finishes fetching water, her children are hungry. But without enough water for irrigation, her crops don\u2019t grow well, leaving her without food and without income to buy more.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Doreen works in her garden.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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\u201cWater is life,\u201d Doreen says. \u201cWithout water, life is very difficult. It is difficult to take care of my children when there is no water for my crops, which makes it hard to feed them or [pay] school fees. Water is crucial for us because we need it for drinking, cooking, irrigating our crops, and also for our animals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Balancing all these water needs is a losing game. Every day, Doreen makes impossible decisions. Sometimes, that means sacrificing critical disease-preventing hygiene behaviors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHygiene and sanitation have severely been affected because residents barely get enough water for cooking or drinking, let alone performing hygiene duties,\u201d Alex said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waterborne diseases spread fast<\/a> when people drink from unsafe sources. Doreen wonders if she and her children will be next, and what will happen to her farm, her children, and her finances if she gets sick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is what drought looks like for Doreen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ripple Effects of Drought<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Doreen\u2019s story is just one example of how drought creates a chain reaction of hardship \u2014 one that impacts food security, health, education, and economic stability. Unlike regions with strong water infrastructure, where irrigation and reservoirs can help mitigate the effects of drought, most households in Southeast Kenya rely solely on rainfall. When that rain doesn\u2019t come, the consequences are devastating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food Insecurity and Economic Hardship<\/h3>\n\n\n\n