Drought conditions across the African continent in late 2025 remain severe and widespread, affecting millions of people, agriculture, and ecosystems from North Africa to Southern and Eastern Africa.[1][2][3]
Current Situation by Region
- Horn of Africa & East Africa: Below-average rainfall due to a negative Indian Ocean Dipole and La Niña-like climate conditions has led to persistent drought across eastern Kenya, Somalia, southeastern Ethiopia, and eastern Tanzania. The October–December 2025 forecasts predict continued below-average rainfall, threatening both food security and water availability. These areas have experienced consecutive poor rainy seasons, resulting in acute food insecurity for tens of millions.[4][5][2][6][7][8]
- Southern Africa: The region faces an unprecedented drought following the El Niño climate event, leading to catastrophic crop failure and livestock losses. National drought disasters have been declared in Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, with Mozambique and Angola also severely impacted. The crisis is expected to deepen until the next harvest season, worsening hunger and malnutrition rates.[3][7][9][10][11]
- North Africa & Central Africa: Morocco and western Algeria continue to recover from prolonged dry conditions that damaged crops, with significant water shortages persisting in river basins like the Zambezi. Crop yields in Morocco and Algeria have been far below average, exacerbating food insecurity and reducing river flows.[12][1]
- West Africa: Population growth and declining water supplies have increased water stress, with drought intensifying in river basins and agricultural regions.[13][14]
Major Impacts
- Food and Water: More than 90 million people in Africa require food assistance or face acute hunger due to widespread agricultural failures, poor harvests, and shrinking water resources. Crop monitoring indicates below-average production and near-famine conditions in worst-hit regions.[2][7][1][3]
- Ecosystems and Societies: Vegetation growth is poor across drought hotspots, river flows are reduced, and livestock losses are extensive. The situation has caused mass displacement, especially in fragile states, and amplified chronic poverty and malnutrition.[7][9][1][2]
Outlook and Concerns
- Most forecasts expect higher-than-average temperatures and persistent dryness through the remainder of 2025, with the worst signals in the eastern and southern Horn, southern Africa, and portions of North Africa. Adverse impacts are expected to persist into 2026 unless wet conditions return.[5][15][8][4][1]
- Humanitarian organizations warn that resource needs will grow as communities face critical water and food shortages, with women, children, and rural populations bearing the greatest burdens.[2][3]
Drought risks in Africa are at critical levels and will likely continue to threaten lives and livelihoods across the continent in the coming months.[9][1]
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- https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and-updates/severe-drought-africa-persists-and-expected-worsen-2025-04-23_en
- https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/droughts-are-a-slow-moving-global-catastrophe-report-finds/
- https://www.wfp.org/emergencies/southern-africa-drought
- https://reliefweb.int/report/world/global-seasonal-outlook-october-2025
- https://fews.net/east-africa/seasonal-monitor/september-2025
- https://www.icpac.net/publications/climate-health-october-december-2025-advisories/
- https://africaclimateinsights.org/wmo-report-africa-gripped-by-heat-floods-and-drought/
- https://www.facebook.com/igadsecretariat/posts/-climate-outlook-ghacof71-official-release️-the-octoberdecember-2025-forecast-sh/1088071343504060/
- https://wmo.int/news/media-centre/extreme-weather-and-climate-change-impacts-hit-africa-hard
- https://www.gdacs.org/report.aspx?eventtype=DR&eventid=1017629
- https://www.africanexponent.com/top-10-african-countries-with-the-highest-drought-in-2025/
- https://drought.emergency.copernicus.eu/data/reports/new/GDODroughtNews202504_Africa_JRC142074.pdf
- https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2025/09/30/tackling-the-pressing-challenge-of-defying-drought-in-west-africa
- https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/23/climate/day-zero-drought-water-scarcity
- https://www.downtoearth.org.in/africa/state-of-africas-environment-2025-changes-in-global-water-cycle-to-have-adverse-impact-on-continent
- https://reliefweb.int/report/burundi/east-africa-seasonal-monitor-mixed-rainfall-impacts-and-growing-concerns-eastern-horn-africa-october-8-2025
- https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/international/africa/africa_hazard.pdf
- https://fews.net/global/global-weather-hazards/february-2024-2
- https://wmo.int/media/news/another-poor-rainy-season-forecast-drought-hit-horn-of-africa
- https://www.facebook.com/PowerShiftAfrica/posts/top-10-drought-hit-nations-in-africa-in-2025-somalia-zimbabwesouth-africanamibia/1120328436948849/
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