National Drought Early Warning Bulletin, July 2019

1.0 Drought status

1.1 Drought indicators

Rainfall

Nearly all ASAL counties experienced generally cold and dry conditions during the month of June with sporadic light rains experienced in some areas such as Baringo, Taita Taveta, Embu, Garissa (Ijara), Laikipia, Isiolo. Kwale and West Pokot. However, rainfall performance in most counties like Marsabit, Mandera, Wajir, Tana River, Garissa, Kilifi, Tharaka, Kitui, Makueni and Kajiado was erratic and below average. Poor rainfall performance in June has resulted to negative impacts on pasture, crop production and water availability for both livestock and domestic use.

Vegetation condition

Figure 1 compares the vegetation condition index (VCI) in June 2019 with that in May 2019. The map shows that as result of light to moderate rainfall received in late May and early June the condition of vegetation in most ASAL counties is on an upward trend compared to last month.
However, six (6) counties: Baringo, Marsabit, Isiolo, Wajir, Laikipia, and Tana River recorded severe vegetation deficit while eleven (11) counties including: Mandera, Turkana, Garissa,
Samburu Tharaka Nithi, West Pokot, Kitui, Meru, Kilifi, Kwale and Narok recorded moderate VCI values implying that the current state of vegetation greenness in these counties has not reached the expected seasonal ranges. Detailed VCI values for June 2019 disaggregated by sub-county are provided in Annex 1.