RAISING RISK AWARENESS: USING CLIMATE SCIENCE FOR DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT

This policy brief discusses the application of attribution science to disaster risk management in Kenya, highlighting how climate science can bridge the gap between scientific data and policy action to improve risk awareness, preparedness, and resource allocation.

• The 2016/2017 drought in Kenya was driven by a combination of hotter-than-normal temperatures, likely influenced by climate change, and La Nina sea surface temperature patterns which reduced rainfall. Attribution analysis using three independent methods indicated that the signal from human-induced climate change regarding rainfall trends was not strong, and the event was considered relatively common in terms of return time.
• Climate science and attribution science offer five primary opportunities to enhance disaster risk management: improving risk awareness to develop coping strategies, strengthening preparedness through better understanding of climate patterns, creating evidence-based adaptation policies, informing the allocation of resources to the most vulnerable areas, and reducing the 'invisibility' of climate change by linking it to real-world events.
• The uptake of climate information for early warning in Kenya has been hindered by resource limitations, poor public awareness, gaps between science and policy, and the use of complex methods to present climate information.
• To improve disaster risk management, the document recommends increasing investment in national and subnational capacities for generating and disseminating climate information, breaking down institutional silos to enhance collaboration between academia and policy-makers, and linking early warning systems to forecast-based early action under government leadership.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (2017). RAISING RISK AWARENESS: USING CLIMATE SCIENCE FOR DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/2016-2017-Kenya-drought-policy-brief-1.pdf

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. RAISING RISK AWARENESS: USING CLIMATE SCIENCE FOR DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT. 2017. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/2016-2017-Kenya-drought-policy-brief-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=RAISING RISK AWARENESS: USING CLIMATE SCIENCE FOR DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT |date=2017 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/2016-2017-Kenya-drought-policy-brief-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetwork2017raising, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{RAISING RISK AWARENESS: USING CLIMATE SCIENCE FOR DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2017}, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/2016-2017-Kenya-drought-policy-brief-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }