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How Climate Change is Affecting Kenya |
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by Yvonne Wabai | 30-03-2019 07:17
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Although they're used interchangeably, climate change and global warming are not synonymous. Global warming refers to the earth's rising surface temperature. It is just one symptom of climate change. Climate change refers to a change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns that lasts for an extended period of at least 30 years. The changing of climate throughout the years is normal, however, what is of concern is the man-made climate change which is caused by an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and other human activities.
Although developed countries are responsible for man-made climate change, it is developing countries, countries like mine, that will suffer the most devastating consequences of it. This is hardly fair, and it has given rise to the term "environmental racism", a term which means 'environmental injustice that occurs in practice and in policy within a racialized context'. So, how has climate change affected Kenya? Here's how. 1. Heat waves In the last 50-100 years, the temperature in most parts of Africa has risen by 0.5°C and they are projected to rise faster than the global average in the 21st century, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This trend is very visible in Kenya. Last year February, a pathologist confirmed that a second-year student at Kitui Campus of Kenyatta University was possibly the first Kenyan to die of a heat wave that was sweeping across the country. This was the first time Kenya was suffering from an extreme heat wave. A day after the student's death, the temperature in Murang'a, a highlands town, hit 34°C, one point higher than the recorded temperature in Mombasa, a coastal town. Temperatures in Kenya have generally been hitting new highs, and we are experiencing hotter and hotter 'summers'. On February this year, meteorologists warned Nairobians of expected high daytime temperatures and we were advised to stay indoors between 12 noon and 3 pm. On top of that, a study by US scientists revealed living conditions for hundreds of millions of East Africans especially will become “unbearable” in the coming decades. This is because people living in already warm climates will endure increasingly intolerable conditions due to increased temperatures. It is estimated that more than 70 million Kenyans and Ugandans currently experience 20 to 25 days of dangerous heat per year. The situation could be far much worse by 2090 where it is estimated that we will face more than 125 days of dangerous heat per year affecting far more people. Kenyans have already started reporting cases of heat stress and heat exhaustion. Difficulty breathing, dizziness, and difficulty sleeping are just some of the symptoms observed. 2. DroughtKenya has been experiencing longer and more severe droughts as a result of the increasing temperatures. The droughts have been intermittent and have greatly affected our food security and the economy, given that agriculture contributes a lot towards Kenya's economy. In fact, it is said that agriculture is the backbone of our economy. Currently, there are people dying of hunger in Turkana County due to drought-linked famine. The drought has also made it harder for Kenyans to have an adequate supply of water and county governments are currently struggling to meet the residents' water needs. Nairobi, for example, primarily gets its water from Ndakaini Dam. The dam fell to dangerously low levels in 2017 and Nairobi residents had to face water rationing for the whole of 2018. The rationing is expected to continue until 2026, according to the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company. The dam has a capacity of 70 million cubic metres. However, demand stands at 777,000 cubic metres a day against a supply of 526,000 cubic metres a day. 3. FloodsAnother effect of climate change is floods. Kenya has also experienced this, as we have periods of floods following periods of drought. Rivers burst their banks and overflowed into neighbouring towns and residential areas. A lot of people lost their homes and livelihoods. Last year's floods led to a renewed zeal to demolish buildings built at an inappropriate distance from riverbanks, leading to even more people losing their homes. Businesses were also destroyed as malls that were in the way of the natural flow of water, such as Nakumatt Ukay which went viral when footage of the flooded supermarket was captured, were demolished. There was a running joke that Nakumatt Ukay was a river in itself. Regardless of the jokes, the situation is serious. Even with unobstructed water flow and unclogged drains, extensive floods will still occur. The floods also add to food insecurity because crops cannot grow/do not grow properly in flooded areas. 4. MosquitoesMosquitoes thrive in African climates. This is why malaria is prevalent in Africa. This is no different in Kenya. Kenya has been struggling to handle malaria for years because of antimalarial drug resistance and also the resistance of mosquitoes to insecticides. Well, with climate change, the number of mosquitoes are increasing. Mosquito-spread diseases may even endanger millions of people in previously non-endemic places due to climate change. According to a new study, half a billion people could be at risk from mosquito-transmitted diseases within 30 years as a result of climate change, and Canada and parts of Europe could be newly exposed to the threat. But while this is in the future for Canada and Europe, it is currently happening in Kenya. There are pockets of Kenyan areas where malaria is not common. These pockets include Nairobi. A common saying is 'mbu za Nairobi hazina malaria' which translates to 'Nairobi mosquitoes do not carry malaria'. When a case of malaria is diagnosed in Nairobi, it is usually tied to a recent travel history outside of Nairobi to areas like the lake regions and the coastal region. However, this is now changing as now malaria-ridden mosquitoes have spread. Nairobi is increasingly becoming at risk of being a malaria endemic area. This is not a future threat for us; it is happening now. 5. Death of wildlifeTourism is a big part of Kenya's economy. Tourists come to see the big 5 as well as the wildebeest migration and other animals. Taking the wildebeest migration, the wildebeest cross River Mara on their way from Maasai Mara in Kenya to Serengeti in Tanzania and back in a loop. This migration is one of the 7 wonders of the modern world. The wildebeest migrate following rains as they look for greener pastures. Due to the change in rainfall patterns as a result of climate change, the wildebeest migration has been affected. Additionally, since the rains now come in the form of floods/very heavy rains after a period of drought, the wildebeests are in danger of drowning as they cross River Mara. But the wildebeest are just one example. Climate change has caused Kenya a loss of biodiversity as wild animals continue to die off as a result of drought. The drought has also added to human-wildlife conflict as humans and wildlife are increasingly finding themselves in each other's circles in the search for food and water. The loss of biodiversity also affects medicinal and food plants, as well as domesticated animals. 6. Rising sea levelsI remember when I was in school and the teacher told us that Mombasa was drowning. I was shocked as I didn't know before then that an entire city could drown. Due to rising sea levels, Mombasa's coastline has been eroding at 2.5-20cm per year. This has made coastal erosion a big threat to Mombasa's lives and infrastructure. In 2009, it was reported that rising sea levels could swallow up Mombasa in just 20 years. Mombasa is on the coastal plain, only about 45 metres above sea level. The scientists predicted that unless urgent mitigation measures were taken, a sea-level rise of just 0.3 metres would see 17 per cent of Mombasa (4,600 hectares) submerged. Outside of Kenya, this situation is already being observed in Kiribati where stretches of land have already been submerged into the ocean. It is feared that the island of Mombasa shares the same fate.
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9 Comments
Hello Yvonne
I do hope that you are fine and doing great with your works. Thank you for your report about how climate change is affecting in Kenya.
Green Cheers from Nepal :)
Keep writing great reports.
We are eager to read more reports from you.
Yours,
Kushal Naharki
Posted 21-04-2019 04:11
Hello Yvonne
I do hope that you are fine and doing great with your works. Thank you for your report about How Climate Change is Affecting Kenya. Climate Change is a global issue and steps must be taken against it in time. We need to change before the climate change changes our planet.
Green Cheers from Nepal :)
Keep writing great reports.
We are eager to read more reports from you.
Yours,
Kushal Naharki
Posted 10-04-2019 20:51
Hello Yvonne
Thank you for your wonderful report about impacts of climate changes on Kenya. It was truly heart wrenching to read all the devastating effects of climate changes. Droughts or floods are common symptoms of climate changes all over the world but countries whose economy mostly rely on agriculture seem to be a lot more vulnerable. Also, loss of biodiversity and the increase of diseases will definitely deteriorate the quality of human lives. Thank you for bringing up these heart breaking, but at the same time, very important issues.
Wonhee Mentor
Posted 02-04-2019 23:42
Hi Yvonne,
I really appreciate your report and I had great time reading this. Although due to the time constraint, I could not provide you with a detailed feedback, I'd like to point out that you did a great job!
Keep up good work :)
Louis Mentor
Posted 01-04-2019 21:11
Hello Yvonne
It's sad to hear about the great impacts of climate chsnge in Kenya and rest of the world. Thanks for your eye opening well written report. Thanks for sharing!.
Posted 30-03-2019 20:10
well elaborated
Posted 30-03-2019 17:28
Hey Yvonne,
I read in another report by a by a fellow Ambassador that most developing countries are more focused on making sure that they move from a developing country to a developed country and their concern lies with ensuring security. They think it is better to undervalue their development that may lead to global warming or in a greater sense climate change.
I see that with my country as well in terms of heat rash and heat waves. We only get warnings of prolong heatwaves but not much is being done to ensure that's such a drastic change in climate will never occur again.
The impact of anthropogenic activities is far outweigh the solutions being put forward to date and if nothing is going to accelerate the establishment of the solutions then you should brace ourselves for more disasters to come.
Thank you for reporting Yvonne. And take care!
Yours sincerely,
Rosa
Posted 30-03-2019 16:13
Hello yvonne
Mombasa is a representative of other cities in the world who are in the verge of drowning.
Hope all these problems get miltigated or at least controlled.
Thank you so much for your report.
Green cheers
Posted 30-03-2019 11:42
I'm particularly worried about the drought sweeping most parts of Africa. May country, Cameroon, is being affected as well. It hurts to think about the impact of the changing conditions on food productions. I'm hoping to create a solution which addresses this. Work in progress.
Posted 30-03-2019 11:13