Kenya's economy and that of the Great Horn of Africa rely on rain-fed agriculture. Unfortunately, the country is prone to hydrological extremes, mainly drought and floods. The occurrence of drought/flood is associated with not only the destruction of property but with loss of lives. The situation is worsening under the observed reduction in seasonal rainfall and amplified global warming. Characterizing the recent evolution of climate extreme scenarios across localized domains remains an imperative process to adapt tailor suit innovative solutions to drought risks and their impacts. The purpose of this book is aimed at demonstrating the recent changes in droughts/pluvial events over Kenya for planning purposes. The first chapter describes the existing literature on the past work documenting historical occurrences of drought/flood over localized domains or the whole country. Chapter two presents the approaches used to examine the current drought/flood scenarios by illustrating the trend, intensity, severity, and frequency based on the Standardized Evapotranspiration Precipitation Index (SPEI). Chapter three describe the results derived from careful analysis of climate extremes most pronounced over the study region. Lastly, possible conclusions and recommendations are presented in the last chapter. The book is designed as an upper-level undergraduate, graduate, and research text.
Authors: Ayugi Brian Odhiambo, Guirong Tan, Niu Ruoyun, Dong Zeyao, Moses Ojara, Lucia Mumo, Hassen Babaousmail, and Victor Ongoma.