Drought displaces 62,000 in Somalia, IOM warns of worsening crisis
Severe drought has driven at least 62,000 people from their homes in five districts across Somalia since the beginning of 2026, as the country faces mounting climate pressures, the International Organization for Migration said on Friday.
Saturday April 25, 2026
Severe drought has driven at least 62,000 people from their homes in five districts across Somalia since the beginning of 2026, as the country faces mounting climate pressures, the International Organization for Migration said on Friday.
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The United Nations migration agency said its data shows drought is now responsible for three out of every four new displacements, marking a 22 percent increase from a year earlier and underscoring the worsening toll of climate shocks.
Manuel Marques Pereira, IOM’s chief of mission in Somalia, said the crisis is already forcing tens of thousands to move and warned that many more could be next.
“Without swift action, drought will continue to uproot communities, deepen hunger and increase vulnerability across Somalia, particularly for the most vulnerable,” Pereira said in a statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
Even if the current Gu rains arrive as expected, the IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix forecasts that another 125,000 people could be displaced by June. The agency said water sources have dried up, grazing land has deteriorated and crop production has fallen sharply in parts of the country, pushing families to travel in search of water, food and aid. Its projections suggest drought-driven movement, especially among pastoralists and farming communities, will rise further in the months ahead if rainfall does not improve.