Drought
Drought is not a new word to many Ethiopians. Drought is the absence of rain for an extended period, often for a season or more. Climate change is associated with the significant reduction in rainfall and increase in droughts that is already apparent in some parts of Ethiopia. Droughts have caused loss of human life, livestock and property, as well as migration of people (MoWR/NMA, 2007).
More than 85% of the population of Ethiopia are farmers. Most of the agriculture in the country is small scale and therefore highly dependent on rainfall and traditional technologies. Drought affects agriculture by damaging crops and decreasing crop yield (Figure 10.5), which causes food shortages not only in rural areas but also in towns and cities. In the worst periods of drought there may be widespread famine, when the extreme shortage of food results in many deaths. The drought that occurred in 1984, leading to a famine that killed more than one million people, is still fresh in the memories of many Ethiopians.
Figure 10.5 Crop failure due to drought in Ethiopia.
How many Ethiopians are affected by drought?
More than 57 million people across Ethiopia have been affected by droughts since 1980 (MoWR/NMA, 2007). Table 10.2 shows the frequency and impacts of droughts between 1964 and 2003.
Table 10.2 Major droughts linked to famines in Ethiopia since 1964 and their impacts on human life and property. (MoWR/NMA, 2007)
| Years | Regions affected | Impacts on human life and property |
| 1964–66 | Tigray and Wollo | About 1.5 million people affected |
| 1973–74 | Tigray and Wollo | About 200,000 people and 30% of livestock dead |
| 1978–79 | Southern Ethiopia | 1.4 million people affected |
| 1982 | Northern Ethiopia | 2 million people affected |
| 1983–84 | Ethiopia | 8 million affected, one million dead and many livestock lost |
| 1987–88 | Ethiopia | 7 million people affected |
| 1990–92 | Northern, eastern, south-eastern Ethiopia | 0.5 million people affected |
| 1993–94 | Tigray and Wollo | 7.6 million people affected |
| 2000 | Ethiopia | 10.5 million people affected |
| 2002–03 | Ethiopia | About 13 million people needed food assistance. |
Look at Table 10.2. What trend over time do you notice in the impacts of drought and famine in the period shown?
The number of people affected by drought and famine has increased during this period, from 1.5 million in 1964–66 to more than 13 million in 2002–03.
Even though the population of Ethiopia has increased over the period from 1964 to 2003 (which could partly explain the increase in numbers affected), the later droughts covered larger areas of the country and were more severe. Currently more than 10 million people live in the drought-prone areas of Ethiopia shown in Figure 10.6.
Figure 10.6 Drought probability map of Ethiopia. (Adapted from MoWR/NMA, 2007)
Based on Figure 10.6, which parts of Ethiopia are most vulnerable to drought?
The most drought-vulnerable areas in Ethiopia include Somali, Afar, parts of Tigray, eastern and southern Oromia, and southern SNNPR.
The causes of drought in Ethiopia
Global warming and alterations in rainfall patterns are believed to be the underlying cause of the trend towards more frequent and more severe droughts in Ethiopia (MoWR/NMA, 2007).
Can you suggest why a climate which is gradually becoming warmer will result in an increase in the risk of droughts? (Hint: think back to Study Session 9.)
Increased air temperature will heat the surface of water bodies and make the soil warmer, resulting in increased evaporation of water into the atmosphere. Also, as plants die through lack of water (remember Figure 10.5), large areas of bare soil are exposed to the heating effects of higher air temperatures, so even more water is lost through evaporation.
There are many other interlinked factors that cause droughts in Ethiopia. Between 1950 and 2014, the population grew from 18.1 million to 96.5 million people, so there has been a rapidly increasing demand for water to meet their needs (Figure 10.7). The rising standard of living, economic growth and industrial development all increase water demand because they require more water for additional uses. Particularly in urban areas, the demand for piped water and flush toilets has increased because households aspire to achieve higher standards of hygiene and sanitation.
Figure 10.7 Queuing for water near Moyale in Oromia Region, one of the worst-affected areas in the 2011 drought.
Population pressure also leads to high deforestation for agricultural expansion and to meet the growing demand for wood (Figure 10.8) to burn as fuel and also for building fences and houses.
Figure 10.8 Collecting wood for use in construction and for fuel contributes to deforestation.
Summarise the ways in which forests sustain the water cycle and locally available water resources.
Forests play a crucial role in stabilising soils, reducing water run-off during rainy periods and increasing the amount of water stored underground. Shade from trees also reduces surface water evaporation and trees add moisture to the atmosphere through the process of transpiration. Thus, forests can be considered an important part of the water cycle and they contribute to sustaining the availability of water in the local area.
In summary, climate change leading to global warming and reduced rainfall, coupled with population pressure, deforestation and change in land use are all major factors in the increasing risk of drought in Ethiopia.
Impacts of drought on WASH in Ethiopia
As well as causing shortages of food and surface water, droughts have a significant effect on the availability of safe water resources. Drought causes water scarcity, so people are more likely to use unsafe water sources such as polluted rivers, streams and lakes. During times of water scarcity, people may save whatever water they can find for drinking and cooking, and stop using it for hygiene activities such as handwashing after defecation (Kovats et al., 2003). Drought can also increase the concentration of pathogenic organisms in rivers and lakes because the lower volume of water cannot dilute the contaminants to below the infectious dose (Kovats et al., 2003). We will discuss the impacts on human health in Study Session 11.