The El Niño event in 2015/2016 was one of the strongest since at least 1950. Drought during the event amplified disruption to public water supply in Botswana’s capital and contributed to unprecedented hydroelectric load shedding across Zambia. In Kenya, moderate precipitation during the El Niño brought localized floods to Nairobi and other areas. Yet, during the 2015/2016 El Niño, fluctuations in precipitation were not extreme considering the strength of the El Niño event. Results, therefore, highlight that even fairly moderate precipitation anomalies can contribute to major disruption to economic activity.
This study points to the urgent need for a deeper understanding of vulnerabilities in existing water, energy, and urban infrastructure across sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in the context of increasing urbanization and a potentially broader range of climate variability. It also recommends that national governments, along with their development partners and civil society, play a wider role in providing enabling conditions and policies that support private sector adaptation to extreme climate events and associated resource disruption.