Tharaka Nithi County: Drought Early Warning Bulletin for March 2015
Attachments
Drought Situation & EW Phase Classification
Biophysical Indicators
The month of March registered onset of the long-rains season of which rainfall was recorded in various parts of the county in the third dekad for an average of four days.
The Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) was 12.74 illustrating severe drought and on a worsening trend.
The water availability was below normal attributed to the long dry spell and declined volumes in available water sources.
Socio Economic Indicators (Impact Indicators)
No external migration was reported in the period under review.
The quality and quantity of pasture and browse was fair to poor and has worsened compared to the previous month.
Milk Production per livelihood zone was recorded at an average of 20.25 litres and consumption at 16.5 litres respectively which was below normal.
Terms of Trade (ToT) ratio was at 83 in comparison to an average of 101.
Percentage of children at risk and malnourished whose MUAC is below 135mm was 7.47 for the period under review which was slightly below the average of 8.28