In this video interview, IRI’s chief climate scientist, Simon Mason, explains how truly intense the drought in East Africa has been compared to other droughts.
“In many parts of Kenya…the amount of rain that has been received is less 25% of normal, in some areas it’s less than 5%. To put those figures in context…much of Texas is experiencing some of its worst drought on record, and for a lot of state, the amount of rainfall received is about one third of what it would normally get. So this is an exceptionally intense drought compared to conditions we are used to here in the United States.”
Mason goes on to discuss the ways in which forecasts and other climate information are helping humanitarian organizations prepare and respond to droughts and other climate-related events.
The entire interview is below.
Simon Mason, Climate Info and Humanitarian community from IRI on Vimeo.
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