Starting in January 2024, most of

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

began experiencing an ongoing

drought A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...

, considered to be the worst to hit the country in at least two decades, leading to severe food shortages, water scarcity, and a national emergency declaration. The drought is affecting 84 of the 116 districts across Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, Lusaka, Northwestern, Southern, and Western provinces. Triggered by an El Niño-induced dry spell, the drought continues to have profound impacts on agriculture, water supply, and food security, affecting over a million children and households across the nation. Zambia's economy and food security is heavily dependent on rain-fed agriculture, making the country particularly vulnerable to changes in weather patterns. The 2023-2024 rainy season saw the influence of El Niño, leading to significantly reduced rainfall and the onset of severe drought conditions, which persist to the present day. On 29 February 2024, President

Hakainde Hichilema Hakainde Hichilema (born 4 June 1962), often known by his initials HH, is a Zambian businessman, farmer, and politician who is the seventh and current president of Zambia since 24 August 2021. After having contested five previous elections in ...

declared the drought a

national disaster A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...

Government response and interventions

On 7 March 2024 the

Zambia National Service The Zambia National Service, abbreviated ZNS, is part of the Zambian Defence Force, has been a cornerstone of national development since its establishment in 1971 through an Act of Parliament. Committed to the twin objectives of training civilian a ...

implemented measures to alleviate its impact. Notably, the ZNS has commenced the planting of winter maize at its Chanyanya Farms in

Kafue district Kafue District is a district of Zambia, located in Lusaka Province. The capital lies at Kafue Kafue is a town on the T2 road in the Lusaka Province of Zambia and it lies on the north bank of the Kafue River, after which it is named. It is th ...

, with plans to cultivate 1,978 hectares of maize by July 2024 with an estimated yield of 15,000 metric tonnes expected by the end of the third quarter. While Zambia Army and

Zambia Air Force The Zambia Air Force (ZAF) is the air force of Zambia and the air operations element of the Zambian Defence Force. Following the creation of the Republic of Zambia in 1964, the former Northern Rhodesia Air Force was renamed as the Zambia Air Forc ...

where instructed to utilize water sources within and around their Copperbelt and North Western province-based farms for irrigated maize production through

drip irrigation Drip irrigation or trickle irrigation is a type of micro-irrigation system that has the potential to save water and nutrients by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either from above the soil surface or buried below the surfac ...

Impact on power supply

Due to the drought, Zambia, highly dependent on

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

, faces significant challenges.

ZESCO ZESCO (acronym for Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited) is a state-owned power company in Zambia. It is Zambia's largest power company producing about 80% of the electricity consumed in the country. ZESCO represents Zambia in the So ...

Managing Director Victor Mapani announced the implementation of an 8-hour daily

load shedding Load shedding (LS) is a protective method of emergency power control where, during a large disbalance between supply and demand, the demand (load) is intentionally disconnected ("shed") so that the available electricity supply within a safe timefr ...

, that became effective on March 11, 2024. This decision comes after a thorough assessment of water levels in the

Kafue Kafue is a town on the T2 road in the Lusaka Province of Zambia and it lies on the north bank of the Kafue River, after which it is named. It is the southern gateway to the central Zambian plateau on which Lusaka and the mining towns of Kabwe ...

and Zambezi basins. The amount of hours of daily load shedding increased to 12 hours in May 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zambian drought, 2024 Droughts in Africa 2024 droughts Natural disasters in Zambia

Droughts A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...

Government response and interventions

Impact on power supply

See also

References