Kenya braces for drier than usual conditions in 2025

Kenya is set to begin the new year with drier than usual conditions, characterised by hotter days and chilly nights.

In its regional outlook, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Climate Prediction and Application Centre has forecasted drier-than-usual conditions to sweep across several parts of East Africa. Most parts of Kenya, along with some areas of Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania, are expected to experience sunny and dry weather.

According to similar predictions from the Kenya Meteorological Department, although occasional rainfall is expected along the Coast, and in the Eastern and Rift Valley regions, much of the country will remain dry. The department has also warned that high temperatures are anticipated to exceed 30°C during the day in the Coast, North-Eastern, and North-Western regions, as well as parts of the Rift Valley, Lake Victoria Basin, and Eastern Kenya.

On the flip side, chilly nights will be the norm throughout January, with temperatures expected to drop below 10°C in parts of the Rift Valley.

In its regular analysis on food security, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network has noted that the below-average short rains are expected to worsen food security in the country. It estimates that between 2.5 to 2.99 million people will require humanitarian food assistance from October 2024 to May 2025. The drier conditions are predicted to affect pastoral areas in Turkana, Marsabit, and Garissa counties until at least May, following the below-average rains.