{"id":2083675,"date":"2026-07-31T08:25:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T05:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kupitiblog.store\/574r\/the-climate-pattern-putting-millions-at-risk-el-nino-explained\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T08:25:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T05:25:32","slug":"the-climate-pattern-putting-millions-at-risk-el-nino-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kupitiblog.store\/574r\/the-climate-pattern-putting-millions-at-risk-el-nino-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"The climate pattern putting millions at risk: El Ni\u00f1o explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

El Ni\u00f1o is putting millions of lives at risk in eastern and southern Africa but the UN is ensuring that communities are better prepared to deal with its impact.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The story from a human perspective<\/strong><\/p>\n

A farmer in Zambia who hasn’t seen a maize harvest. <\/p>\n

A mother in Somalia carrying her sick children through floodwater. <\/p>\n

A baby in Malawi, crying because she’s starving.<\/p>\n

These aren’t isolated stories. They’re what happens when El Ni\u00f1o arrives.<\/p>\n

El Ni\u00f1o made simple<\/strong><\/h2>\n

El Ni\u00f1o is a natural climate pattern, a periodic warming of the Pacific Ocean that shifts weather around the world. <\/p>\n

It’s not new, and it’s not caused by climate change, although climate change can worsen its impact. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Forecasters expect El Ni\u00f1o to intensify in coming months and to possibly stretch into early 2027.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 WFP\/Gabriela Vivacqua A farmer inspects a drought-stricken maize crop in Zambia. <\/p>\n

For millions of people in southern and eastern Africa, that’s not a weather forecast. It’s a stark warning.<\/p>\n

Where the threat lands and how<\/strong><\/h2>\n

El Ni\u00f1o doesn’t hit everywhere the same way.<\/p>\n

In eastern Africa, from Somali to Tanzania, it tends to mean too much rain. Flash floods, rivers bursting their banks, landslides, homes underwater, roads washed out, clinics and schools cut off.<\/p>\n

In southern Africa, from Zambia to South Africa and from Namibia to Mozambique, it usually means the opposite; not enough rain which means crops failing, water sources drying up, and pastures disappearing.<\/p>\n

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Different weather, but the same outcome; the most vulnerable people lose the safety nets that keep them alive.<\/p>\n

Esnart Chongani is a farmer in Zambia. She said the 2024 drought meant her family harvested no maize at all.<\/p>\n

 \u201cI cannot remember anything like this,\u201d she said. People are so hungry. The generosity of our community has disappeared because everyone is struggling.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n

Martha Kalumbi in Malawi, whose baby was hospitalised for malnutrition said a failed harvest left her family and everyone around her, with nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy child was always crying. Doctors told me she was starving and getting malnourished,\u201d she said. \u201cI was afraid that my baby might die. The situation was painful.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

And it’s not just hunger. Floods contaminate water supplies, which fuels outbreaks of cholera and other waterborne disease. <\/p>\n

Standing water breeds mosquitoes, driving up malaria. <\/p>\n

People lose homes and get displaced, sometimes for good. <\/p>\n

In Somalia, a mother of nine named Asha Mohamed was pushed from her home by the 2023 floods.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife became challenging after the floods,\u201d she said. \u201cMy children fell sick, and I had no money to buy medicine or take them to a proper health facility.\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n

How the UN is getting ahead of El Ni\u00f1o<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The good news: El Ni\u00f1o can be forecast months in advance. That gives humanitarian agencies a rare head start, and they’re using it.<\/p>\n

UN News\/Daniel Dickinson A farmer in Madagascar shows an app which helps him to prepare for the onset of extreme weather patterns. <\/p>\n