By Magdalene Wanja - Reporter
Kenya, 24 August 2026 - One season, water is desperately scarce. Another, there is so much of it that roads disappear, homes are flooded and rivers burst their banks.
For millions of Kenyans, this is becoming the uncomfortable face of climate change: a country increasingly forced to deal with both too little water and too much water.
As the world marks World Water Week, the United Nations is drawing attention to a connection that is often overlooked in climate discussions, water is not simply one of the consequences of climate change. It is at the centre of the crisis.
“Water and climate change are inextricably linked,” the UN says, warning that climate change is altering the world's water systems in increasingly complex ways.
The changes are being felt through unpredictable rainfall, prolonged droughts, heavier storms, shrinking ice sheets, melting glaciers and rising sea levels.
For Kenya, the consequences can be particularly difficult because water is closely tied to almost every part of the economy.
Earth may appear to be a planet overflowing with water, but the amount available for human use is tiny.
The UN estimates that only 0.5 per cent of the planet's water is usable and available freshwater.
At the same time, more than two billion people globally do not have access to safe drinking water, while about half of the world's population experiences severe water shortages during part of the year.
Climate change is now putting even greater pressure on that limited resource.
Over the past two decades, terrestrial water storage, including soil moisture, snow and ice, has declined by about one centimeter annually.
As glaciers melt and permafrost disappears, water systems in high-altitude regions are being disrupted, affecting irrigation, hydropower and supplies for communities.
The irony is stark: a warming planet can produce more water in the wrong place and less water where people need it.
Kenya is living the contradiction
In northern Kenya, drought can turn grazing land into dust, weaken livestock herds and leave communities searching for water.
Then, elsewhere or months later, intense rainfall can bring a completely different emergency.
Floods can sweep through settlements, damage roads and bridges, destroy crops and disrupt businesses and transport.
The same climate system is therefore capable of creating two opposite problems, water scarcity and water excess.
And neither is simply an environmental problem.
When drought hits, farmers lose crops and livestock keepers lose animals. Food prices and household incomes can come under pressure.
When floods arrive, roads, homes, businesses and public infrastructure can be damaged, leaving communities facing another round of economic losses.
The result is a climate problem that increasingly looks like a water-management problem.
The UN says climate change is making extreme weather events such as floods and droughts more likely and more severe.
A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, helping fuel heavier rainfall and storms. At the same time, increased evaporation can intensify dry conditions.
The numbers show how significant the shift has become.
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Water-related disasters have accounted for about 70 per cent of deaths from natural disasters over the past 50 years.
Since 2000, flood-related disasters have increased by 134 per cent, with Asia suffering the highest losses. Droughts have increased by 29 per cent, with Africa recording the greatest human toll.
For countries such as Kenya, where large sections of the population depend directly or indirectly on agriculture and natural resources, these changes carry consequences far beyond the weather forecast.
According to the UN, healthy aquatic ecosystems and improved water management can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions while protecting communities against climate hazards.
Wetlands are one example. Mangroves, marshes and seagrasses can absorb and store carbon while also providing natural protection against storm surges and flooding.
For Kenya, protecting such ecosystems is therefore not simply about conservation. It can also be an investment in climate resilience.
Early-warning systems offer another opportunity. The UN says early warnings for floods and droughts can generate more than ten times their investment in returns. A warning issued 24 hours before a storm can reduce damage by about 30 per cent.
That difference can mean fewer destroyed homes, fewer disrupted businesses and more time for communities to move people, livestock and valuable possessions to safety.
Farming will have to use less water, not simply find more
Agriculture is another critical front. As rainfall becomes less predictable, simply waiting for the next rainy season is becoming a riskier strategy.
Climate-smart farming methods, including drip irrigation, can help farmers produce more efficiently while reducing pressure on freshwater resources.
Resilient water and sanitation systems are equally important, particularly for children and vulnerable communities.
The UN estimates that resilient water and sanitation systems could save the lives of more than 360,000 infants every year.
The climate crisis is often discussed in terms of rising temperatures.
But for ordinary households, the consequences may be experienced less as a number on a thermometer and more as a dry water source, a failed harvest, a flooded road or a destroyed home.
That makes water one of the clearest ways to understand what climate change means on the ground.
Kenya cannot control how much the global temperature rises on its own.
But it can determine how prepared its communities, farms, cities and ecosystems are for a world in which rainfall is increasingly difficult to predict.
The choice is not simply between preparing for drought or preparing for floods.
Kenya increasingly needs to prepare for both.
And that is perhaps the most important lesson from this year's World Water Week: protecting water is no longer only an environmental responsibility. It is a climate strategy, an economic strategy and, ultimately, a strategy for protecting lives.
World Water Week: Water Scarcity and Underutilised Excess Define Kenya’s Growing Climate Challenge
Water is at the centre of the climate change crisis.