A grim reality for locals
Dr. Sean Avery, Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College London, has recently wrote a piece for The Conversation UK on the rising water levels in Kenya’s Rift Valley Lakes. Dr. Avery points out that the freshwater Baringo and Naivasha lakes have experienced too much rainfall in recent decades. Consequently, nearby homes, industries, and wildlife habitats are being severely impacted. In 2020, “the rising waters of Lake Baringo alone have displaced more than 5, 000 people and destroyed schools, hospitals, and roads” (Avery 2020).
The rising levels are not unusual, but there are several contributing factors, such as rising urban settlements, which have made flooding more extreme. Urban activity, such as forests being levelled for agriculture, as well as urban impingement on riparian zones and wetlands, are disrupting the natural habitat. Catchments are overwhelmed by too much rainfall and degrading. As a result, rainfall is not sufficiently replenishing underground aquifers and sediments are being broken into the rivers. Nearby communities are now going through serious challenges because the sediment accumulation can possibly block underground freshwater openings and increase levels of salt.
Announcement on researching hydrology in Kenya
King’s Water Hub is happy to announce that Dr. Avery has recently collaborated with Drs. Emma Tebbs and Michael Chadwick from King’s Department of Geography! The trio have recently researched the decline of chlorophyll in Lake Turkana, Kenya. Click here to learn more.
