Julianne Johnston, 03/14/2003
For the fourth year in a row, NOAA environmental satellites have pinpointed crippling drought conditions in parts of Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, leaving area residents on the brink of starvation, water shortages and disease outbreaks, according to the agency's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NOAA Satellite and Information Services).
"Any hope of success for the early stage of the agricultural season (March - May) for that part of Africa is at risk now," said Felix Kogan of the NOAA Satellite and Information Services Office of Research and Applications in Camp Springs, Md. "This is the time that the local population counts on to get enough food to last until fall, when the next harvest is ready."
Kogan added, "Drought that hangs on this long anywhere is very unusual. We want to give humanitarian and relief officials advanced notice to make decisions that hopefully will save lives."
"Since 2000, drought conditions have affected nearly 20 percent of the world's land mass," Kogan added. "This method has proven successful over the years, and we'll continue using it as a way to warn the global community about the dangers of long-term drought."
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