Angola

In the wake of El Niño

We are living in the most unusually warm period in history and this is taking a huge toll on the world’s most vulnerable. 2015 was the hottest year on record and 2016 looks set to be even hotter.
As this year’s El Niño in the Pacific lurches towards becoming a La Nina1 , the run of record temperatures looks set to be broken again. But in some ways, this year is not unique. It has become widely acknowledged among the development community that weather-related disasters are the ‘new normal’.

Description:

Globally, millions of vulnerable people are experiencing increased hunger and poverty due to droughts, floods, storms and extreme temperature fluctuations as a result of a climatic occurrence: El Niño. This phenomenon is not an individual weather event but a climate pattern which occurs every two to seven years and lasts 9-12 months. The 2015/2016 occurrence is one of the most severe in a half-century and the strongest El Niño since 1997/1998 which killed some 21,000 people and caused damage to infrastructure worth US$ 36 billion.

Globally, millions of vulnerable people are experiencing increased hunger and poverty due to droughts, floods, storms and extreme temperature fluctuations as a result of a climatic occurrence: El Niño. This phenomenon is not an individual weather event but a climate pattern which occurs every two to seven years and lasts 9-12 months. The 2015/2016 occurrence is one of the most severe in a half-century and the strongest El Niño since 1997/1998 which killed some 21,000 people and caused damage to infrastructure worth US$ 36 billion.

FOREWORD BY THE EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR

The 2015-2016 El Niño has passed its peak but it remains strong and will continue to influence the global climate. It is expected to weaken in the coming months and fade away during the second quarter of 2016. The World Meteorological Organization states that models indicate a return to an El Niño neutral state during the second quarter of 2016. Meanwhile, strong El Niño conditions are quite likely through March-April. It is too early to predict if there will then be a swing to La Niña (the opposite of El Niño).

60 million PEOPLE WILL BE AFFECTED BY EL NIÑO IN THE FOUR MOST AFFECTED REGIONS

2.8 million PEOPLE REQUIRE HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE IN GUATEMALA AND HONDURAS

10.2 million PEOPLE IN NEED OF EMERGENCY FOOD IN ETHIOPIA

14 million FOOD INSECURE PEOPLE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA – EXCLUDING SOUTH AFRICA

El Niño status

Strategic report

Objectives and activities

In 2015, as the Millennium Development Goals reach their deadline, the world can reflect on real progress. Since 1990, thanks to the actions of millions of people around the globe, extreme income poverty has been cut by almost two-thirds, child mortality has fallen by more than half, and more children are attending primary school than ever before.

But these achievements tell only part of the story.

Snapshot 11 August – 25 August 2015

Haiti: Insecurity has increased since legislative elections. Violence and intimidation were reported at many polling stations and a second round of voting is planned, following low voter turnout. Food security has deteriorated as a result of prolonged drought conditions since the beginning of 2015: poor households in Sud, Sud-Est, Nord-Est and Artibonite will remain in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) food security outcomes through December. Recent cholera rates are triple those of the comparable time period in 2014.

Snapshot 12 August –18 August 2015

Yemen: The humanitarian situation in Yemen continues to deteriorate. 1.4 million people have become displaced since conflict escalated in March – a 12% increase since early July. Fuel shortages and access issues continue to affect provision of health services. 23% of Yemen’s health facilities are either partially funtional or non-functional.

Snapshot 5-11 August 2015

Burkina Faso: Heavy floods in Ouagadougou, Kadiogo province, and Bobo-Dioulasso, Houet province, in early August affected around 19,780 people. Significant damage to houses and food stocks were reported. Additional flooding in the north could bring the total number of affected to 122,000. More than 1.5 million people are facing Stressed or Crisis food security outcomes in Burkina Faso, especially in the Sahel region in the north.

Snapshot 29 July–4 August 2015

Pakistan: Flooding has killed 118 people and affected more than 800,000 people in Pakistan. Hundreds of villages have been inundated. Most casualties were recorded in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Azad Jammu & Kashmir.

Myanmar : 46 people have been killed and 156,000–216,000 people are affected by flooding. Sagaing region and Kachin and Shan states have been particularly impacted. Another 350,000 people are estimated affected in Bangladesh and India.

Snapshot 22–28 July 2015

Somalia: More than 10,000 people have been displaced in Lower Shabelle and Bay regions since AMISOM and Somali armed forces began their offensive. Al Shabaab has lost control of Bardhere in Gedo and Dinsoor in Bay. In accessible areas of Hudur town, Bakool, 33% GAM and 19% SAM were observed in a MUAC assessment in July – a significant deterioration since June. Very critical malnutrition rates persist in Bulo Burde, Hiraan.

Snapshot 15–21 July 2015

Iraq: More than 74,440 people have been displaced from Saqlawiyah in Falluja district since 8 July, and tens of thousands reportedly remain trapped in Falluja and Ramadi districts. There are now more than 3.1 million IDPs across 3,613 locations in Iraq; 300,000 people have been displaced from and within Anbar since military operations began in April.

Snapshot 1–8 April 2015

Iraq: Violence, looting and serious human rights violations were reported as Iraqi forces and affiliated groups recaptured Tikrit. There are numerous booby traps and tensions are reportedly rising between government forces and militias. Elsewhere, IDPs are returning: tens of thousands have gone home to Diyala, Ninewa and Al Alam in Salah al Din since February.

Tracking food security trends in vulnerable countries

The Global Food Security Update provides a quarterly overview of key food security trends in vulnerable countries. Information is provided by WFP VAM field teams and partners.

In focus

• Conflict in Iraq has disrupted food markets, leading to price hikes in Anbar, Salah Al-Din and Kirkuk. According to the 2014-2015 Strategic Response Plan, around 5.2 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, and over 2.5 million people are currently displaced.

Libya: Concern is growing for the increasing number of people affected by crisis since mid-July, as violence persists, rival governments are failing to assure basic services, and most humanitarian organisations have withdrawn.

Syria: Only 41% of Syria’s public hospitals are fully operational. The latest in a number of local truces around Damascus has been agreed between state forces and opposition in Qadam. 191,369 people were reported killed March 2011–April 2014, mainly in Rural Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Idleb, Dar’a and Hama, according to new UN figures.