Geography & History Notes | KCSE, NECTA, ZIMSEC & GCSE

  Desertification is a type of land degradation in which a relatively dry land region becomes increasingly arid, typically losing its bodies of water as well as vegetation and wildlife. It is caused by a variety of factors, such as climate change and human activities. In East Africa and other parts of Africa, a number of steps have been taken to combat desertification or reverse the trend of desertification. Causes of desertification. Desertification is basically caused by environmentally unfriendly human activities . However, to a small extent, it may be brought about by naturally existing conditions in the atmosphere that may lead to cycles of drought. Such atmospheric systems that result in cyclic changes or occurrences in the atmosphere have compounded the problem of desertification. Human activities that have contributed to desertification in East Africa in general include the following: Deforestation. Overgrazing. Overstocking. Bush burning. Reclamation of wetlands. Boreh...

  Arid conditions in East Africa have been brought about by a number of factors. The basic causes of aridity have been physical while human factors have increased or contributed to further aridity in East Africa Physical causes of aridity  Prevalence of dry/desiccated winds Some areas in East Africa have been influenced by dry winds for instance the N.E trade winds which emanate from the Arabian Desert. Those winds pick some moisture as they blow Southwards towards Africa however these winds tend to lose their moisture in the Ethiopian highlands. Since they are dry they do not bring in rain. They even absorb the little moisture that exists in the regions in which they blow and even warm-up such areas. This explains the dry conditions experienced in Northern Kenya. Limited water masses Several areas in East Africa that experience aridity such as Northern Kenya and Central Tanzania lack large water bodies that could otherwise contribute to atmospheric moisture through evaporatio...