It was a super hot day in MysticLand. The Gifted Four lay down under the ceiling fan. Scorch sighed and put an ice cube in her mouth. She said, “Why is it so hot here? Why isn’t the MysticLord altering the weather?”
The heat made Scorch extra grumbly. She was essentially a ball of fire. And fire is always hot. Phew! It was now getting unbearable.
“Mysticals, this will pass soon enough. The MysticLord will take care of it,” said Verum, “There are places where hot weather like this continues for years. Take Somalia for example. It is going through one of the worst droughts in decades! When there is an insufficient amount of rainfall for a long period, it is called drought. Droughts cause water shortages and severely impact agriculture.
Rains have failed for four seasons. This has left 90% of the country dry and temperatures have shot up. The largest river in Somalia, the Jubba River or Juba River, has hardly any water. About 4.5 million people have been impacted by the drought as crops have failed and animals are struggling.”
“Actually this drought is affecting various countries in a region called the Horn of Africa and other parts of the continent,” added Orak.
“You’re correct. It is causing a major food crisis in the region,” said Verum, “In Somalia, if the rains fail again this month (April), almost half of the country’s population aged five and below will suffer from acute malnutrition. Malnutrition is a condition in which too little food causes physical weakness and ill-health.”
“Oh no,” whispered Orak, “Average or under average rains have been predicted in the region in April.”
“It is a truly difficult situation,” said Verum, “Families have been forced to abandon their homes in villages. They are traveling to malnutrition stabilization centers in the country. Here, they receive milk and medicines. But the extent of this disaster is too much. Even these centers are now overflowing.”
“It’s super important that aid like water, food, and medicines is sent to Somalia,” said Felix.