NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 8 — At sunrise in Kenya’s arid north, the search for water begins long before the heat sets in, as communities in Turkana, Wajir, Marsabit, Garissa, Mandera and Tana River walk increasingly longer distances in search of water and pasture.What has changed is not the struggle itself, but its scale: the journeys are longer, the rains are shorter, more erratic and increasingly unreliable, and livestock losses—once episodic—are now recurring as entire herds are wiped out by cycles of prolonged drought followed by sudden, destructive floods.For pastoralists, the loss is not only economic but existential, marking a collapse of identity, culture and survival in a landscape where climate change is no longer a distant threat but a lived reality reshaping livelihoods, straining infrastructure and deepening inequality.Kenya is experiencing sharper climate contrasts than ever before, particularly in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) that cover nearly 80 per cent of the country, where repeated droughts have devastated pastoral economies and left once-productive grazing lands in Turkana crisscrossed by dry riverbeds as goats, camels and cattle—the backbone of livelihoods—die in large numbers.“It has taken my animals. Without them, I am not who I was,” said a pastoralist in Turkana who lost his entire herd to drought.Local authorities have responded with emergency measures, including the Turkana County Government’s distribution of supplementary livestock feed, vaccines and veterinary drugs to cushion communities.Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai says the programme prioritises breeding stock and young animals as key to recovery once conditions improve.“Our pastoral economy depends on livestock, and protecting breeding stock during drought is critical for recovery once the situation improves. This intervention will help maintain livestock body condition, improve milk production for household nutrition, and reduce livestock mortality,” he said last month.But the crisis extends beyond individual counties.According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, 3.3 million people in Kenya are facing high levels of acute food insecurity, up sharply from early 2025.About 400,000 are already in emergency conditions requiring urgent life-saving assistance and more than 810,000 children under five acutely malnourished alongside over 100,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women.The drivers are interconnected: failed rains, rising food prices, disease outbreaks and shrinking humanitarian support, with the IPC report noting that below-average and erratic October–December 2025 rains triggered widespread crop failure, poor pasture regeneration and inadequate recovery of water sources.In parts of Mandera, Marsabit and southern Turkana, malnutrition has reached severe levels, with a growing risk of mortality.Even as northern Kenya dries out, other regions are experiencing the opposite extreme, with farmers in Tana River County grappling with destructive floods that are washing away crops and homes.Meteorologists warn that rainfall patterns are becoming more intense and less predictable, with short, heavy downpours increasingly replacing steady seasonal rains, creating a cycle in which drought hardens the soil and flash floods then destroy what little remains.Recent flooding has already caused widespread devastation, with government figures indicating dozens of deaths, thousands displaced, and impacts spreading across multiple counties including parts of central and western Kenya.Urban areas are also increasingly exposed.In Nairobi’s informal settlements, climate stress is amplifying existing vulnerabilities, with residents in areas such as Mukuru describing worsening living conditions as both floods and heat intensify.“When it rains, water enters the house. When it is hot, it is unbearable,” says John Otieno, a Mukuru resident.Poor drainage, overcrowding and inadequate housing are compounding climate risks, particularly for low-income communities, as urban planners warn that rapid, unplanned urbanisation is deepening inequality in exposure to climate shocks.“Climate change is amplifying inequality. Those with the least resources are facing the greatest risks,” says a Nairobi-based researcher.Across the country, adaptation is already underway but remains largely household-driven, with pastoralists turning to casual labour or small businesses, farmers shifting to drought-resistant crops or adjusting planting seasons, and some families in flood-prone areas relocating or elevating homes.But these coping strategies are often reactive, limited and costly, and in some cases they are creating new environmental pressures, as increased charcoal burning accelerates deforestation and further disrupts local rainfall patterns.Experts say Kenya must move beyond short-term coping strategies toward coordinated, long-term adaptation through expanded climate-smart agriculture, improved irrigation and water storage, stronger flood control and drainage systems, and better early warning and disaster preparedness.Some initiatives are already underway, with government programmes supported by development partners investing in water harvesting, drought resilience and climate-resilient infrastructure in northern Kenya, alongside regional efforts to expand access to groundwater in drought-prone areas to improve water reliability for vulnerable communities.Despite this momentum, funding remains a major constraint.Kenya contributes a negligible share of global greenhouse gas emissions yet bears disproportionate climate impacts, while access to climate finance—particularly for locally led adaptation—remains limited.President William Ruto has repeatedly called for stronger international partnerships to bridge this financing gap, most recently on February 15 when he met Green Climate Fund (GCF) Executive Director Mafalda Duarte on the sidelines of the 39th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa to discuss scaling up financing for climate-resilient agriculture and low-carbon development.“We value our partnership with the Green Climate Fund in strengthening our national response to climate change,” he said.“Together, we are promoting climate-resilient, low-carbon, financially sustainable agricultural value chains that equip our farmers with the technology, knowledge and services they need to thrive.”Experts caution that without sustained investment, the gap between policy ambition and implementation will continue to widen, leaving frontline communities increasingly exposed.Back in Turkana, the evidence of a changing climate is unmistakable—cracked earth, dry wells and shrinking herds—where the crisis is measured in empty granaries, lost livelihoods and children going hungry.Ultimately, the choices Kenya makes now on infrastructure, water systems and inclusive planning will determine whether communities adapt to a harsher climate future or slide deeper into crisis.