Crisis Looms as Global Warming Hits Africa

The water crisis is coming sooner than I anticipated here, and here.

Joseph Manyara crouches over loose rocks and digs his hands into a muddy sludge seeping with water. Soon, his hands are filled with water, which he empties into a bucket.

He repeats the procedure several times, surrounded by scores of impatient children also waiting to fill their buckets from Ngarenaro River on the base of Mount Kenya.

"There is little water left," says Manyara with a note of despair. The river, which was once roaring with water from the mountain, is now only a silent sludge limping downhill. At times, clean water seeps from the rocks, but it is never enough for residents of Kirua village in Central Imenti District.

Mr John Gitonga of Subuiga area in South Imenti District points at what used to be Maranya River.

"If more people came to draw water, we would fight. It is not enough for all of us," says Manyara. Residents say this is one of the many rivers flowing from Mount Kenya, that have dried up over the years.

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