Mercy Corps Warns of Devastating Impact of El Niño in Climate-Vulnerable Regions

Following the announcement by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirming the arrival of El Niño, Mercy Corps warns of the potential catastrophic consequences of this climate pattern in areas already ravaged by drought and floods. Regions including the Horn of Africa, particularly Ethiopia, and Central America, including Haiti and Guatemala, are at high risk as El Niño can disrupt weather and climate patterns, leading to destructive floods, an increased likelihood of tropical disease outbreaks, and devastating droughts.

Melaku Yirga, Mercy Corps Country Director for Ethiopia, says:

“The Ethiopian lowlands are just starting to recover from the worst drought in generations with five consecutive failed rainy seasons, which caused huge levels of suffering and loss of livestock. The arrival of El Niño means that communities living in lowland areas now have to brace themselves for the onset of further drought conditions and extreme temperatures, which will put additional pressure on already depleted livelihood assets and mechanisms for coping with the effects of climate change. The country has experienced heavy rains in March and April, which were three times higher than normal. These rains caused widespread flooding in the lowlands, where many people depend on livestock and agriculture. 

“The recent rainfall has provided much-needed relief to the areas affected by drought and regeneration of pastures has been observed in some of the most severely affected areas, giving hope to farmers and pastoralists. Unfortunately, yet another crisis has struck the communities already dealing with the effects of the recent drought. Heavy rains in the highlands have resulted in flooding that has destroyed crops and irrigation infrastructure. This will likely worsen the situation further, leaving the affected communities in a more dire state. According to estimates by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), the rainy season and subsequent flooding have already led to the loss of over 70,000 livestock. These effects are expected to worsen as El Niño continues.

“The Ethiopian government is making efforts to respond to the humanitarian needs of its people, but it has been overwhelmed by the scale and complexity of the crisis. Such response efforts came at the expense of crucial development initiatives. More funds are needed to cope with the effects of El Niño and to support the recovery and development of the affected communities.”