Drought in Southeast Africa

Credit: Image based on data provided by Matthew C. Hansen, University of Maryland, Posted on: Saturday, 14 February 2004, 06:00 CST Download full size image

Africa may be facing food shortages as dry soils in December and early January choked summer crops. Northeastern South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland have received less than 50 percent of the normal rainfall. Parts of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi reported 50-80 percent less rain this season than average. Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia, and Botswana have also been plagued with dry weather. This Normalized Difference Vegetation Index image made from data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) shows the extent of the drought. The image compares the amount of vegetation on the ground during the first sixteen days of January 2004 to an average of ground vegetation for the same period during 2001, 2002, and 2003.

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