Frequency and severity of drought in the Lake Victoria region (Kenya) and its effects on food security

Using monthly and seasonal precipitation data for the period 1961 1999, we established drought frequency and severity in relation to food security in the Lake Victoria region in Kenya. We used percentiles together with time series analysis for a 40 yr period, with the lower 25% of the quartile desig...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Awange, Joseph, Aluoch, J., Ogallo, L., Omulo, M., Omondi, P.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Inter-Research 2007
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/43937
_version_ 1848756852699955200
author Awange, Joseph
Aluoch, J.
Ogallo, L.
Omulo, M.
Omondi, P.
author_facet Awange, Joseph
Aluoch, J.
Ogallo, L.
Omulo, M.
Omondi, P.
author_sort Awange, Joseph
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Using monthly and seasonal precipitation data for the period 1961 1999, we established drought frequency and severity in relation to food security in the Lake Victoria region in Kenya. We used percentiles together with time series analysis for a 40 yr period, with the lower 25% of the quartile designated as the threshold values that indicate drought years. We then used percentiles and Drought Severity Index (DSI) to ascertain the physical conditions and severity of the drought years. The 1980s and 1990s were drier decades (the 1980s had more drought events than any other decade considered in this study), with lower negative anomalies in comparison to the 1960s and 1970s, and the number of drought events and their severity have been increasing in recent years(especially during the 1990s). In general, drought affects the crop planting seasons of March to May (MAM) and September to November (SON), and leads to increased food imports in the years following the drought. If the present trends persist, the Lake Victoria region will face not only more severe drought events, but also significant reductions in food security.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T09:18:47Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-43937
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T09:18:47Z
publishDate 2007
publisher Inter-Research
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-439372017-09-13T15:58:57Z Frequency and severity of drought in the Lake Victoria region (Kenya) and its effects on food security Awange, Joseph Aluoch, J. Ogallo, L. Omulo, M. Omondi, P. Lake Victoria Food Security Climate Drought Environment Using monthly and seasonal precipitation data for the period 1961 1999, we established drought frequency and severity in relation to food security in the Lake Victoria region in Kenya. We used percentiles together with time series analysis for a 40 yr period, with the lower 25% of the quartile designated as the threshold values that indicate drought years. We then used percentiles and Drought Severity Index (DSI) to ascertain the physical conditions and severity of the drought years. The 1980s and 1990s were drier decades (the 1980s had more drought events than any other decade considered in this study), with lower negative anomalies in comparison to the 1960s and 1970s, and the number of drought events and their severity have been increasing in recent years(especially during the 1990s). In general, drought affects the crop planting seasons of March to May (MAM) and September to November (SON), and leads to increased food imports in the years following the drought. If the present trends persist, the Lake Victoria region will face not only more severe drought events, but also significant reductions in food security. 2007 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/43937 10.3354/cr033135 Inter-Research fulltext
spellingShingle Lake Victoria Food Security Climate Drought Environment
Awange, Joseph
Aluoch, J.
Ogallo, L.
Omulo, M.
Omondi, P.
Frequency and severity of drought in the Lake Victoria region (Kenya) and its effects on food security
title Frequency and severity of drought in the Lake Victoria region (Kenya) and its effects on food security
title_full Frequency and severity of drought in the Lake Victoria region (Kenya) and its effects on food security
title_fullStr Frequency and severity of drought in the Lake Victoria region (Kenya) and its effects on food security
title_full_unstemmed Frequency and severity of drought in the Lake Victoria region (Kenya) and its effects on food security
title_short Frequency and severity of drought in the Lake Victoria region (Kenya) and its effects on food security
title_sort frequency and severity of drought in the lake victoria region (kenya) and its effects on food security
topic Lake Victoria Food Security Climate Drought Environment
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/43937