Informed Comment Homepage

Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion

Header Right

  • Featured
  • US politics
  • Middle East
  • Environment
  • US Foreign Policy
  • Energy
  • Economy
  • Politics
  • About
  • Archives
  • Submissions

© 2025 Informed Comment

  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Climate Change
10 Million at Risk of Hunger Due to Climate Change and El Niño, Oxfam Warns

10 Million at Risk of Hunger Due to Climate Change and El Niño, Oxfam Warns

contributors 10/06/2015

Tweet
Share
Reddit
Email

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage | (Inter Press Service) | – –

UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – At least ten million of the poorest people face food insecurity in 2015 and 2016 due to extreme weather conditions and the onset of El Niño, Oxfam has reported.

In Oxfam’s new report called Entering Uncharted Waters, erratic weather patterns were noted including high temperatures and droughts, disrupting farming seasons around the world.

Countries are already facing a “major emergency,” said Oxfam, including Ethiopia where 4.5 million people are in need of food assistance due to a drought this year.

Almost three million face hunger in Malawi as a result of erratic rains followed by drought. These conditions have caused a stifling in food production and a rise in food prices.

Christian Aid reported that the production of maize, Malawi’s staple food, has dropped by 30 percent in 2014, while maize prices have risen between 50 and 100 percent.

Central American farmers have been coping with a drought for almost two years, also disrupting its maize production and decreasing access to sufficient food.

Oxfam warns that conditions will worsen due to the incoming El Niño, which could be the “most powerful” since 1997

El Niño is a weather phenomenon where there is periodic, but prolonged warming of the Pacific Ocean. This can last between 9 months to 2 years, producing below-average rains and high temperatures.

El Niño has already reduced the Asian monsoon over India, potentially triggering a prolonged drought and food insecurity in the Eastern region of the continent.

The warming of the oceans, exacerbated by climate change, may double the frequency of the most powerful El Niños, Oxfam says.

The charity urged for preemptive action, pointing to the consequences of failure of response, such as the death of 260,000 during the food crisis in the Horn of Africa in 2011.

Christian Aid has also reported funding deficits in Malawi of over 130 million dollars, hindering support to the worst-affected communities.

“If governments and agencies take immediate action, as some are doing, then major humanitarian emergencies next year can be averted,” Oxfam said in its report.

“Prevention is better than cure,” they continued.

The Oxfam report comes a week after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which includes commitments to eradicating hunger and addressing climate change.

They described the unfolding crisis as the “first test” for world leaders who will be meeting in December for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.

“This should serve as a wake-up call for them to agree a global deal to tackle climate change,” said Oxfam Great Britain’s Chief Executive Mark Goldring.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2014 was the hottest year on record. However, global data currently reveal that 2015 may surpass last year in record high temperatures.

Licensed from Inter Press Service

—–

Related video added by Juan Cole:

TheGatesNotes: “Who Will Suffer Most From Climate Change”

Filed Under: Climate Change, Environment

Primary Sidebar

Support Independent Journalism

Click here to donate via PayPal.

Personal checks should be made out to Juan Cole and sent to me at:

Juan Cole
P. O. Box 4218,
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2548
USA
(Remember, make the checks out to “Juan Cole” or they can’t be cashed)

STAY INFORMED

Join our newsletter to have sharp analysis delivered to your inbox every day.
Warning! Social media will not reliably deliver Informed Comment to you. They are shadowbanning news sites, especially if "controversial."
To see new IC posts, please sign up for our email Newsletter.

Social Media

Bluesky | Instagram

Popular

  • Antisemitism Awareness Act – Protecting Jews from What?
  • When Politics Leaves Reality Behind
  • Trump, the Suez Canal, and the end of Eisenhower's World Order
  • The Real Evil Empire May Surprise You
  • American Psycho: Trump's Delusional Crusade Transforms America into a Pariah State

Gaza Yet Stands


Juan Cole's New Ebook at Amazon. Click Here to Buy
__________________________

Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires



Click here to Buy Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam


Click here to Buy The Rubaiyat.
Sign up for our newsletter

Informed Comment © 2025 All Rights Reserved