Mogadishu, Somalia – October’s rains, once a source of life and renewal across Somalia, have come lightly this year—barely enough to wet the cracked soil in many regions. For a country already on the frontline of the global climate crisis, the weak showers mark another painful reminder of how quickly nature’s balance is slipping away.

Across the dry plains of Puntland, families watch the sky each morning, hoping for clouds that rarely form. Wells that once quenched both herders and their animals are turning to dust, while pastures have withered into brittle wastelands. The fading rains have done more than parch the land; they have fractured livelihoods built over generations.

Nomadic herders, who depend on grazing and seasonal migration, are among the worst affected. Many have lost their livestock—once symbols of wealth and survival—to thirst and disease. With animals gone and crops failing, families are being pushed into towns in search of food, water, or aid, leaving behind the rhythm of a pastoral life that has defined Somali culture for centuries.

The humanitarian cost is immense. Current estimates suggest that 3.4 million people across Somalia lack sufficient food. In some areas, aid workers describe growing queues at feeding centers, where mothers cradle malnourished children and men line up for jerrycans of water brought in by trucks. The situation is particularly stark in Puntland, where even boreholes—once reliable lifelines—are drying up.

Climate experts warn that Somalia’s predicament is not an isolated one but a glimpse into a harsher future for the Horn of Africa. Repeated droughts, punctuated by flash floods and erratic rainfall, are eroding the resilience of rural communities. The alternating extremes leave little time for recovery, trapping families in cycles of hunger and displacement.

Local leaders and community groups continue to call for stronger investment in water management, sustainable agriculture, and early warning systems. Yet progress remains uneven, hindered by insecurity, limited infrastructure, and the sheer scale of environmental collapse.

In villages where rain once dictated the rhythm of life, people now speak of uncertainty as their new season. The skies above Puntland may still hold the promise of rain, but for millions of Somalis, survival has become a daily act of endurance—an unyielding struggle against a changing climate that no longer follows the rules of the past.