El Niño: From Threat to Opportunity

As Tanzania prepares for the heavy rainfall and flooding associated with El Niño, the focus is understandably on managing the immediate risks. But periods of excess rainfall also raise a longer-term question: could the water that threatens communities today help prepare the country for future water scarcity?

Research from central Tanzania shows that groundwater recharge is often driven by rare periods of intense, episodic rainfall, several of which have coincided with El Niño events. These periods have produced sudden and substantial rises in groundwater levels, sometimes significant enough to interrupt long-term groundwater decline.

This evidence presents an important opportunity. By bett…Read more