HIGHLIGHTS

• Devastating floods swept away hundreds of livestock in Al Jawf governorate, driving families to poverty.

• September outlook shows reduced impact of floods, however, widespread rainfall with isolated heavy downpours is still likely in some areas.

• Increased incidence of waterborne/water-related vector-borne diseases such as cholera and dengue fever.

• Due to the wet conditions, crop pests and diseases are resurgent, mainly Fall Armyworms and Desert Locust.

I. METEOROLOGICAL REVIEW

From 1 – 31 August, over 80 percent of Yemen experienced heavy rainfall, with large portions inundated as floods swept through the country. The heavy rainfall that lashed the country had a cumulative amount of about 2500 mm, which is 45 percent higher than the rainfall experienced in August 2021. Field weather stations reported the heaviest rain in Al Hudaydah (Al Kaden, 306 mm), Ibb (Alsaddah, 263 mm), Amanat Al Asimah (Baghdad, 241 mm), Al Mahwit (Almahweet, 234 mm), Amanat Al Asimah (Al-Asbahi, 215 mm), and Dhamar (Maqar-Alhya'a, 209 mm).

Rainfall was enhanced both in spatial dimension (across all governorates) and temporal dimension (over 26 rainy days), leading to increased soil moisture of nearly 150 percent above normal, which boosted vegetation growth by over 60 percent, especially in western parts of the country. The high moisture levels were also reflected in the Agricultural Stress Index (ASI), a key metric for crop water requirements. Overall, ASI shows good crop performance with no water stress detected across the country.

The weather outlook for September indicates that although the worst in flood occurrence is over, scattered to widespread rainfall with isolated heavy downpours is still likely, especially over Ibb, Taizz, Al Dhale’e, and Dhamar governorates. Waterlogged areas in these governorates from previous months of heavy rainfall are still at risk of further flooding. This is likely to be exacerbated by the possibility of cyclone activity in the northeast of the Arabian Sea. This calls for unrelenting flood risk preparedness. As the ravages of climate change continue to affect farming communities in Yemen, adopting integrated farming systems is strongly advised. Agricultural systems that integrate crops, livestock, and forestry are especially encouraged because such systems, on average, have a greater ability to adapt to climate change.