Africa

Climate change threatens livelihood of 70% in Mozambique: WFP

Broken rainfall patterns, droughts a threat to agriculture

 
NEXT BLOG ❯
By Madhumita Paul
Published: Tuesday 13 July 2021

Intense and frequent droughts, floods and storms have affected livelihoods of 70 per cent of the population in Mozambique, according to World Food Programme (WFP).  

These people generally depend on agriculture. Its geographical location has kept Mozambique prone to natural disasters.

Mozambique is the 38th-most-vulnerable and the 13th least ready country to deal with the effects of climate change. 

It was the most affected by the impacts of extreme weather events in 2019, according to Global Climate Risk Index 2021. For the period of 2000-2019, it the country ranked fifth.

Mozambique was hit by the tropical cyclones Idai and Kenneth in 2019, and another tropical cyclone Eloisa that struck Mozambique's port city Beira on January 23, 2021.

The cyclones destroyed hundreds of thousands of hectares of cropland in central and northern Mozambique. Crops are grown in largely rainfed systems in the country, making the sector highly vulnerable to natural hazards such as drought and floods.

A warming of 0.1-0.25 degree Celsius per decade was predicted for the area, according to an analysis by WFP and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for the period 1981-2017. The prediction was particularly for the southern part of the country that never recovered from the El Nino in 2015.

Rainfall varied highly in the same period in areas of warming in Mozambique. Rains started late and were short, intense spells. The combination of hotter and drier conditions has been making the incidence of drought more common, the report mentioned.

Droughts have affected people who rely on rainfed agriculture for their food and nutrition security.

Climate projections for Mozambique for the 2050s point to increased temperature but remain silent on changes in rainfall, according to the WFP report.
 
The following things can be followed to improve climate change adaptation:
  • Adaptation plans and processing, including design and implementation need to be strengthened. For that, training and awareness for improved, climate resilient agricultural practices should be rolled out.
  • Public-private partnerships to support scale-up of climate resilient practices.
  • Need to develop tools and systems that will allow for anticipatory actions to be integrated with preparedness and early response to drought hazards.

To improve seasonal forecasts and strengthen rainfall and drought monitoring systems in Mozambique, WFP is supporting the National Institute of Meteorology.

WFP has partnered with the Government of Mozambique to develop tools and systems to better monitor and forecast drought events.

Climate Mitigation Climate Adaptation International Fund … Africa India
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