The Evidence of Changing Rainfall Patterns in Kajiado County, Kenya

Abstract

The Maasai pastoralists have in the past decade experienced disruptions as precipitation season shifts. These shifts have adversely affected their economies and livelihoods. Moreover, they have been losing up to 30 % of their herd annually to drought related disasters, yet the locals' capacity on climate pattern shifts is inadequate. To address this gap, a study focused on Kajiado County due to its harboring large of livestock. The study aimed at determining the historical precipitation characteristics. To achieve this, the study utilized Climate Hazards group Infra-Red Precipitation with Stations data set (CHIRPS) for the period 1983-2014 for each of the five sub-counties within Kajiado County. The key findings, encompassed: declining trend in the average annual precipitation; shifting from the usual bi-modal rainfall seasons with March to May (MAM) experiencing worst failure compared to October to December (OND) and the shortening of the famine cycles.