Kenya: New Report Highlights Climate Change Impacts

By Rita Nyaga

A new country report launched in Kenya on the impacts of climate change has revealed that average temperatures in East Africa rose by 0.7 – 1⁰ C between 1973 and 2013.

This increase has triggered multiple and cascading impacts on Kenya’s population, natural ecosystems and economy, and far-reaching repercussions on lives and livelihoods. The report, Climate Change Impacts in Kenya: What Climate Change means for a country and its people, provides crucial and timely insights into Kenya’s climate crisis, and offers recommendations on locally-led adaptation and resilience efforts.

Human activity continues to warm the planet leaving the world exposed to severe impacts. In Kenya, the devastation of submerged farmlands, destruction of infrastructure including roads, bridges and buildings, and change in livelihood patterns are forcing citizens to dig deeper into their pockets to address issues.

Humanitarian organizations are being compelled to spend more on emergency response than adaptation, mitigation and resilience programs. Officials present at the launch stressed that urgent and immediate action grounded in climate finance, is not only essential but critical to support adaptation, resilience, protection of biodiversity and low-carbon development, ensuring a fair and liveable future for Kenya’s people.

Key findings from the report:

- Wheat yields in Africa are projected to decline by 15% by 2050, a significant decrease compared to the 1.9% reduction projected globally by mid-century.

- Tea production in Kenya is projected to fall by 26% by 2050, even with ambitious efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

- Urgent climate finance is needed in Kenya to support adaptation and low-carbon development for a liveable future.

- Climate change is predicted to put an additional 75.9 million people at risk from malaria in eastern and southern Africa by 2080, with the greatest risk in eastern Africa.

- To mitigate the effects of climate change, local and traditional knowledge systems, particularly those related to natural resources and territories held by Indigenous communities must be mobilised and enhanced.

The Launch was officiated by Dr. Eng. Festus Ng’eno, Kenya’s principal secretary, State department for environment & climate change – Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry. The report was authored by Patricia Nying’uro and Dr Joyce Kimutai of the Kenya Meteorological Department, Kenneth Mwangi of the World Resources Institute and Winnie Khaemba of Climate Analytics.

There’s a proposal to translate the report to local language for wider accessibility.  Research will continue at local level and documentation of events, loss of culture changing lifestyles and livelihood will be shared.  By using climate information, we can prepare better.