Kenya is an especially interesting country as their economy is very agricultural and therefore very weather dependent. Kenya is found in the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) so is prone to many microclimates including their two rainy seasons. Unfortunately, this also brings along the possibility of droughts and floods. For example, when the Pacific Ocean begins to warm up, this produces an El Nina effect. This results in increased rainfall, flooding, and high winds typically followed by a drought. Increased rainfall and droughts are becoming more common and have detrimental effects on the land. Effects can include the stripping of nutrient rich topsoil from the land which influences the ability to grow crops successfully.
To learn more about Kenya’s weather patterns, follow this link:
Having a successful crop yield is especially important not only to feed Kenya’s citizens, but to support the seventy percent of Kenya’s workforce currently employed in agriculture.
During Kenya’s two rainy seasons, farmers in Kenya grow products such as poultry, vegetables, fruit, and sugarcane. Crops are dependent on natural rainfall instead of traditional irrigation systems which this puts them at a higher risk when a drought begins.
To learn more about agricultural in Kenya, please follow this link:
When these droughts come about suddenly, individuals have no time to plan for a sudden lack of resources. Thankfully, Kenya is prepared for short term famines, but if outside resources are needed for more long-term famines, resources may take up to 6 months to be delivered. This may lead to dramatic food shortages, loss of animals, and the possibility of the death of thousands of local citizens. To prevent these serious issues, many meteorologists work to identify early signs of possible droughts so individuals can prepare properly.
To learn more about the impact of these droughts, follow this link:
The health of Kenya’s land is extremely important for their economy and the overall health of the inhabitants here. Unfortunately, logging has begun to take place in East Africa which has begun to reduce water storage, evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. This reduction of trees has increased the overall temperature, leading to more flooding. This flooding is related to the melting of snow on mountains such as Mount Kilimanjaro, Kenya, and Elgon. If this logging continues, more flooding and increased temperatures could greatly impact the farmer’s ability to grow crops. These impacts may not seem like much, but these may become amplified and have serious effects. This is called a positive feedback loop and can result in serious and sudden changes. These serious and sudden changes can significantly impact weather patterns and agriculture. If these weather changes occur, thousands, if not many more, could suffer from this climate change.
Information from this blog was obtained from the book, “Tropic of Chaos by Christian Parenti. Follow the link for more information on this novel and to learn more about Climate change.
This was a wonderful blog to read Abdulelah. It is interesting to see how Kenyans are adapting and how this has impacts, such as with the increased logging and the subsequent flooding. In addition, it's very worrisome to think about how weak and ill prepared Kenya is to long term famines. Good post.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely good that Kenya is more prepared for short-term droughts these days, however, it is still sad to see what can happen if longer droughts occur and how climate change dependent this country is. Great post!
ReplyDeleteYou pointed out the importance of agriculture to Kenya's society–it is incredibly harrowing to think that the desolation of such an important aspect of Kenya's economy seems to be occurring right before our eyes. Do you know if the Kenyan government has any plans to dissuade people from logging?
ReplyDeleteIt is so hard for a country like East Kenya to survive during the climate crisis. Their economy is all agricultural based and the affects of climate change don't allow the country to perform. Additionally, they can't eat! So when you can't eat and your economy is non existent, you begin to fail. It is such a troubling situation that they didn't even cause. The people of Kenya cannot live their lives and live off the land because of other's actions.
ReplyDelete70% of the workforce is in agriculture! That is a dominating industry for Kenya. What a precarious situation for the region. Is the aggressive logging due to local consumption needs or to service the global lumber market or some other economic motivator?
ReplyDeleteReading about how Kenya is so agriculturally based made me think of other countries that are as well. When we read about these countries, we think of what will happen to them. But these countries often affect other countries when they start decreasing in agriculture. Many countries that have see this loss rely on other countries to export their goods. Once they can no longer grow anything, who then sends aid to them?
ReplyDeleteI like that your blogpost focused on the impact that climate change has on agricultural countries. In the US we also produce a lot of food, but we're not solely dependent on that food production to stay in business. However, countries like Kenya wouldn't be able to support themselves without their food production, and they're suffering right now because of climate change.
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