Weather phenomenon: EU: 13.5 million euros for El Niño preparation in Africa

Since measurements began, no El Niño as strong as the one now expected has been recorded. The EU is now supporting African countries in their preparation.

Brussels. The EU is providing 13.5 million euros so that eastern and southern Africa can better prepare for the likely momentous El Niño weather phenomenon. The European Commission announced in Brussels that the money will be used in particularly vulnerable areas.

Six million euros are to flow to Somalia so that evacuation locations can be better prepared and health and nutrition services can be expanded. One million euros is intended to strengthen preparedness in particularly vulnerable areas in Kenya, while another one in Uganda is intended to expand ongoing aid measures in view of ongoing food insecurity. In southern Africa and the Indian Ocean region, €5.5 million is earmarked for proactive measures and early relief measures to mitigate the impact.

The United Nations expects the El Niño weather phenomenon to be unprecedentedly strong and possibly have devastating consequences. El Niño is a natural phenomenon in the Pacific that occurs every two to seven years. It is not caused by climate change, but can exacerbate its consequences.

According to the EU climate change service Copernicus, the sea temperature on the surface of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, which is particularly affected by the climate phenomenon, reached a record 29.94 degrees Celsius in October. This was far above the temperature during past strong El Niño events, such as in 2015/2016 and 1997/1998.