Southern Africa is enduring its worst hunger crisis in decades due to El Niño, the UN says

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Months of drought in southern Africa triggered by the El Niño weather phenomenon have had a devastating impact on more than 27 million people and caused the region's worst hunger crisis in decades, the United Nations' food agency said Tuesday.

The World Food Program warned it could become a “full-scale human catastrophe.”

Five countries — Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe — have declared national disasters over the drought and resultant hunger. The WFP estimates that about 21 million children in southern Africa are now malnourished as crops have failed.

Tens of millions in the region rely on small-scale agriculture that is irrigated by rain for their food and to make money to buy provisions. Aid agencies warned of a potential disaster late last year as the naturally occurring El Niño led to below-average rainfall across the region, while its impact has been exacerbated by warming temperatures linked to climate change.

“This is the worst food crisis in decades,” WFP spokesperson Tomson Phiri said. “October in southern Africa marks the start of the lean season, and each month is expected to be worse than the previous one until harvests next year in March and April. Crops have failed, livestock have perished and children are lucky to receive one meal per day.”

The five countries that declared drought-related disasters have pleaded for international aid, while Angola on the west coast of Africa and Mozambique on the east coast are also “severely affected,” Phiri said, showing the extent to which the drought has swept across the region.

“The situation is dire,” Phiri said. He said the WFP needs around $369 million to provide immediate help but has only received a fifth of that amid a shortfall in donations. The WFP has begun helping with food assistance and other critical support at the request of various governments in the region, he said.

Phiri said southern Africa's crisis came at a time of “soaring global needs,” with humanitarian aid also desperately required in Gaza, Sudan and elsewhere.

Other aid agencies have said the drought in southern Africa is especially harsh, with the United States aid agency, USAID, saying in June it was the most severe drought in 100 years during the January to March agricultural season, wiping out swathes of crops and food for millions.

El Niño, a weather phenomenon which warms parts of the central Pacific, has different impacts on weather in different parts of the world. The latest El Niño formed in the middle of last year and ended in June. It was blamed, along with human-caused climate change and overall ocean warmth, for a wild 12 months of heat waves and extreme weather.

In southern Africa, food prices have risen sharply in many areas affected by the drought, increasing the hardship. The drought has also had other damaging effects.

Zambia has lost much of its electricity and has been plunged into hours and sometimes days of blackouts because it relies heavily on hydroelectric power from the huge Kariba Dam. The water level of the dam is so low that it can hardly generate any power. Zimbabwe shares the dam and is also experiencing power outages.

Authorities in Namibia and Zimbabwe have resorted to killing wildlife, including elephants, to provide meat for hungry people.

Scientists say sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most vulnerable parts of the world to climate change because of a high dependency on rain-fed agriculture and natural resources. Millions of African livelihoods depend on the climate, while poor countries are unable to finance climate-resilience measures.

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

Baobab trees stand in Chirundu, Zambia, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

File — A woman scoops water from a hole she has dug in a dried up riverbed in Lusitu, Zambia, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe/File)

File — Villagers fetch water from a makeshift borehole in Mudzi, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. as the United Nations' food agency says months of drought in southern Africa, triggered by the El Nino weather phenomenon, has had a devastating impact on more than 27 million people and caused the region's worst hunger crisis in decades. (AP Photo/Aaron Ufumeli)

File — A women scoops water from a hole she has dug in a dried up riverbed in Lusitu, Zambia, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe/File)

FILE - A woman walks along a path in a drought-stricken field in Zvimba, rural Zimbabwe, Saturday, June, 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, File)

File — Villagers fetch water from a makeshift borehole in Mudzi, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. as the United Nations' food agency says months of drought in southern Africa, triggered by the El Nino weather phenomenon, has had a devastating impact on more than 27 million people and caused the region's worst hunger crisis in decades. (AP Photo/Aaron Ufumeli/File)

File — Villagers pump water at a borehole in Mudzi, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, July 2, 2024.as the United Nations' food agency says months of drought in southern Africa, triggered by the El Nino weather phenomenon, has had a devastating impact on more than 27 million people and caused the region's worst hunger crisis in decades. (AP Photo/Aaron Ufumeli/File)

File — A man stands in a sun-baked dried up watering hole in Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe. Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019, as the United Nations' food agency says months of drought in southern Africa, triggered by the El Nino weather phenomenon, has had a devastating impact on more than 27 million people and caused the region's worst hunger crisis in decades. .(AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/File)

A women scoops water from a hole she has dug in a dried up riverbed in Lusitu, Zambia, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

A woman scoops water from a hole she has dug in a dried up riverbed in Lusitu, Zambia, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Zoo's long dark panda drought is coming to an end.

Eleven months after the zoo sent its three wildly popular pandas — Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub Xiao Qi Ji — back to China, a new pair of bears arrived in the United States on Tuesday. They will be transported from Dulles International Airport in suburban Virginia to the zoo.

A pair of three-year old giant pandas, named Bao Li and Qing Bao, have left a research facility in the southwestern Chinese city of Dujiangyan and will soon be flown to Washington, according to a statement by the China Wildlife Conservation Association.

“Food prepared for the trip includes corn bread, bamboo and carrots, as well as water and medicine,” the statement said, adding that the partnership will "make new contributions in protecting global biodiversity and enhance the friendship of the people from the two countries.”

It's unclear exactly when the bears will arrive in Washington, but there will likely be an extended quarantine and acclimation period before they are introduced to the public. On Monday evening, the zoo's website posted an alert that the entire facility would be closed Tuesday, without giving a reason. The lead article on the site still said the pandas would be coming sometime before the end of the year.

Bao Li (precious vigor) and Qing Bao (green treasure) arrive in Washington as part of a new 10-year agreement with Chinese authorities. The previous deal expired last year, leading to some concern among American panda-lovers that Beijing was gradually pulling its furry friendship ambassadors from American zoos amid rising diplomatic tensions.

Breeding pairs in zoos in Memphis and San Diego had already returned to China earlier and the four pandas in the Atlanta zoo left for China last week.

That anxiety turned to optimism last November when Chinese President Xi Jinping publicly stated a desire to continue the panda exchange programs. This year, a new pair of bears has been delivered to the San Diego Zoo, while another pair has been promised to San Francisco.

In Washington, National Zoo officials remained conspicuously silent about negotiations for a new panda agreement, but they expressed optimism about striking a new deal and launched a multimillion-dollar renovation of its panda enclosure in anticipation. Then in late May, zoo director Brandie Smith teamed up with first lady Jill Biden to announce that Bao Li and Qing Bao would be arriving by the end of this year.

The Chinese announcement said the National Zoo had sent “three experienced keepers and veterinary experts” to China to assist the transport and accompany the bears.

Zoo officials on Monday declined to confirm the Chinese announcement. Zoo spokesperson Jennifer Zoon said in an email, “For the safety of animals and staff, we are not able to confirm any details at this time.” But signs at the zoo and on its social media site have heralded the planned return of the pandas and panda-themed merchandise still dominates the gift shops.

“The giant pandas are an iconic part of the Washington, D.C., story, both for locals and incoming travelers alike,” said Elliott L. Ferguson, II, president and CEO of Destination DC. “The interest and excitement associated with their return directly benefits the entire city, bringing further interest and visitors to our hotels, restaurants and other attractions.”

The exact terms of the deal are still unclear; under previous 10-year agreements the Chinese government receives $1 million per year, per bear. Any cubs born in overseas zoos are typically returned to China before they reach age four.

Pandas have become one of the unofficial symbols of the nation's capital, dating back to 1972 when the first pair — Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing — were sent as a gift from Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai following President Richard Nixon's historic diplomatic visit to China. Later, a rolling series of 10-year cooperation agreements was struck.

Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, credited the decades of cooperation with advancing research into panda preservation and breeding. During the lifespan of these agreements, giant pandas have been reclassified from an endangered species to merely vulnerable.

“The current round of cooperation will focus on prevention and treatment of major diseases, and protection of habitats and wild giant panda populations,” Liu said in an email. “We hope the arrival of the pandas will inject fresh impetus into exchanges between China and the U.S., and help to stabilize the broader bilateral relationship as well.”

In this image taken from video and released by China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration, a cage containing female giant panda Qing Bao is loaded onto a plane at the Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in southwestern China's Sichuan province on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (Jin Tao/China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration via AP)

In this image taken from video and released by China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration, a pair of giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao are prepared for loading onto a plane at the Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in southwestern China's Sichuan province on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (Jin Tao/China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration via AP)

In this image taken from video and released by China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration, a cage containing male giant panda Bao Li is loaded onto a plane at the Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in southwestern China's Sichuan province on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (Jin Tao/China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration via AP)

In this image taken from video and released by China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration, workers send off the pair of giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao from the Dujiangyan Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in southwestern China's Sichuan province on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (Jin Tao/China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration via AP)

In this image taken from video and released by China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration, female giant panda Qing Bao is prepared for transport from the Dujiangyan Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in southwestern China's Sichuan province on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (Jin Tao/China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration via AP)

In this image taken from video and released by China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration, male giant panda Bao Li is prepared for transport from the Dujiangyan Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in southwestern China's Sichuan province on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (Jin Tao/China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration via AP)

FILE- Panda cub Bao Bao, right, and her mother Mei Xiang are seen in their habitat at the National Zoo in Washington, Aug. 23, 2014. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

FILE - Giant pandas eat bamboo at the Smithsonian's National Zoo, May 4, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)