ReliefWeb

Highlights

February is part of the typically dry Jilaal (January-March) season across Somalia.

Dry and harsh weather conditions characterized by strong winds and high temperatures persisted during February 2021 across the country. Most rainfall stations did not record any rainfall amount except for a few pockets within Lower Juba, Middle Juba, Gedo and Hiraan regions (as shown in Map 2 – Map 5) that recorded light showers during the last week of the month.

Satellite imagery from TAMSAT continue to indicate largely dry weather conditions across Somalia with localize rainfall in parts Lower Juba. Vegetation cover, measured through the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), continued to deteriorate in large parts of southern Somalia, especially in Bay, Middle and Lower Juba, Middle and Lower Shabelle reflecting a large decrease in vegetation cover.

Significant degradation of pasture and decrease in water availability have been reported in most parts of the country due to prevailing dry weather conditions and high temperatures. Temporary water sources and catchments in traditional grazing areas have been significantly depleted. Consequently, pastoralists are moving towards villages with permanent boreholes; leading to sharp increases in water prices, especially in northern parts of the country. Water trucking for livestock has been reported in most parts of northern regions. This puts undue pressure on poor pastoralists as they have limited resources to cover water trucking expenses or expenses for migration to distant grazing areas.
There have also been little to no rainfall in most parts of Somalia during the month of March and forecasts for the next two weeks (through mid-April) also indicate continued dry conditions (no rainfall).

This is likely to worsen ongoing drought conditions in many parts of Somalia and further threatens both pastoral and agro pastoral livelihoods.

Download Document from FSNAU website.