Kenya: Traditional Weather Prediction Incorporated Into Forecasts

9 February 2012

In Essong'olo village, some 32 km west of Kenya's Kisumu city, Japheth Olukune Akhati and his neighbours are busy tilling their small plots of land in preparation for planting. It hasn't rained for a few months here, and the skies are still azure blue. But thanks to traditional knowledge, the farmers know it might rain in three weeks' time, and they want to be ready.

Kenyan farmers like these have relied on indigenous forecasting methods through the generations. Some fear these methods will be made redundant by more extreme and unpredictable weather linked with climate change. Others say they remain valuable tools - especially when used in conjunction with modern science.

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