Zimbabwe declares El Niño drought a national disaster

Zimbabwe declared drought a national disaster on Wednesday, with President Emmerson Mnangagwa saying the country needed $2 billion in aid to help millions of people who are going hungry. A severe dry spell induced by the El Nino weather pattern is wreaking havoc across southern Africa. "No Zimbabwean must succumb or die from hunger," Mnangagwa told a press conference. "To that end, I do hereby declare a nationwide State of Disaster, due to the El Nino-induced drought." Due to poor rains, more than 2.7 million people will not have enough food to put on the table this year, he said. This season's grain harvest was expected to bring in just over half of the cereals needed to feed the nation, he said. The naturally occurring El Nino climate pattern, which emerged in mid-2023, usually increases global temperatures for one year afterwards. It is currently fuelling fires and record heat across the world. In southern Africa, Zimbabwe is the third country to declare drought a national ...