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US weather forecasters have issued a drought alert for Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia warning that the three countries would face widespread crop losses and food shortages.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said its weather satellites had for the sixth consecutive year detected "areas of stifling drought conditions" in parts of the three countries.

The maps above compare the health of vegetation across Africa during 2004 (on right) and 2005 (left). The red color depicts areas experiencing extreme drought, with the majority in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia in the eastern potion of the continent.

The US agency said it was issuing the drought alert to notify humanitarian and relief agencies of these potentially deadly conditions to enable them to save lives.

Conditions are worst in eastern Kenya, southeastern Ethiopia and northern and central Somalia, it noted.

That is the case in Somalia, where a bumper crop of sorghum will hold them through the dry spell. Kenya, however, has experienced two seasons in a row of below-normal rains, and is going into this season with serious problems, Le Comte says. And according to the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP), the country will have a deficit of 60,000 tons of food until the August harvest season. In Ethiopia, 49 percent of the population is malnourished, and in 2004 WFP sought 871,000 tons of food aid for the country.

Despite the dismal outlook, the area is now beginning to see some widespread rains, and NOAA forecasts show more wet weather on the way. "We've had some dry spells, but it's turning wet," Le Comte says, "which is good unless it's excessive." In the extreme, the rainfall can destroy agricultural yields and create risk of flooding, something researchers are watching closely.

Courtesy of Panapress & Geotimes

Update 18th May 2005
The current drought is so severe that the Kenyan president, Mwai Kibaki, declared it a national disaster and expressed fears that people may face starvation if the response is not swift.

Both authorities and humanitarian organizations estimate that the lives of 2.3 million people living in 200 administrative divisions across Kenya are at risk. The Kenya Red Cross Society will assist 200,000 drought-affected people in the districts of Kwale and Makueni and has launched a US$ 2.7 million international appeal through the International Federation to finance the programme.
Andreï Neacsu, Red Cross Red Crescent Magazine