"East Africa’s worst drought in at least 40 years, which has displaced more than a million people and pushed millions more to the brink of famine, would not have happened if not for human-caused climate change, a network of extreme-weather scientists said Thursday.

Rising global temperatures — largely from the burning of fossil fuels — have disrupted the weather patterns that typically bring rainfall to Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, the scientists found. Last fall, the once-dependable rains failed for a record-setting fifth season in a row. Hotter conditions have also caused more moisture to evaporate from the landscape, desiccating croplands and causing millions of livestock to starve.

With global temperatures about 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than the preindustrial average, the scientists say, droughts like this one are 100 times more likely than they would have been in a cooler world."

Sarah Kaplan reports for the Washington Post April 27, 2023. [2]