B1 · Intermediate
11 min
climateenvironmenteast africahumanitarian
The Ground That Drinks: Kenya, the Floods, and a Shifting Climate
La Tierra Que Bebe: Kenia, las Inundaciones y el Clima que Cambia
At least ten people died this week in Kenya after heavy rains triggered flooding and landslides across several regions of the country. Fletcher and Octavio dig into why Kenya is so exposed to climate extremes and what this tells us about the future of East Africa.
Al menos diez personas murieron esta semana en Kenia después de lluvias intensas que causaron inundaciones y deslizamientos de tierra en varias regiones del país. Fletcher y Octavio exploran por qué Kenia es tan vulnerable a los extremos climáticos y qué nos dice esto sobre el futuro de África Oriental.
8 essential B1-level terms from this episode, with translations and example sentences in Spanish.
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| inundación | flood | Las inundaciones causaron muchos daños en varias regiones de Kenia. |
| deslizamiento de tierra | landslide | Después de las lluvias fuertes, hubo varios deslizamientos de tierra en las montañas. |
| desbordarse | to overflow / to flood its banks | El río se desbordó durante la noche y el agua llegó a las casas. |
| sequía | drought | La sequía del año pasado destruyó muchos cultivos en el norte del país. |
| renovable | renewable | Kenia produce casi el ochenta por ciento de su electricidad con energías renovables. |
| desplazamiento | displacement | Las inundaciones causaron el desplazamiento de miles de familias. |
| temporada de lluvias | rainy season | La temporada de lluvias en Kenia empieza en marzo y termina en mayo. |
| desigualdad | inequality | La desigualdad en la ciudad significa que los pobres viven en las zonas más peligrosas. |
The last time I was in Nairobi, it hadn't rained properly in about six weeks.
The roads near Kibera were cracked, the reservoirs were low, and almost every conversation I had eventually turned to water.
Where it was, where it wasn't, who had it.
Y ahora, en 2026, el problema es completamente diferente.
And now, in 2026, the problem is completely different.
Esta semana, al menos diez personas murieron en Kenia por inundaciones y deslizamientos de tierra.
This week, at least ten people died in Kenya from flooding and landslides.
Las lluvias fueron muy fuertes en varias regiones del país.
The rains were very heavy across several regions of the country.
Ten people confirmed dead.
And we know from experience that the real number tends to be higher in the first few days, before the roads are cleared and the remote communities are reached.
Exactamente.
Exactly.
Y lo importante es que esto no es una sorpresa.
And the important thing is that this is not a surprise.
Kenia tiene dos temporadas de lluvias cada año, pero en los últimos años las lluvias son más intensas y más irregulares.
Kenya has two rainy seasons every year, but in recent years the rains are more intense and more irregular.
No es lo mismo que antes.
It's not the same as before.
Two rainy seasons, right, the long rains and the short rains.
March through May, then October through December.
For generations, Kenyan farmers built their entire agricultural calendar around that rhythm.
Claro, y cuando ese ritmo cambia, todo cambia.
Right, and when that rhythm changes, everything changes.
Los agricultores no saben cuándo plantar.
Farmers don't know when to plant.
Las ciudades no están preparadas para tanta agua en poco tiempo.
Cities aren't prepared for that much water in a short time.
Los ríos se desbordan muy rápido.
Rivers overflow very quickly.
There's a 2024 precedent worth naming here.
Kenya had catastrophic floods that year, April and May, that killed over two hundred and seventy people.
The Mathare River in Nairobi flooded overnight and swept through an entire informal settlement.
Sí, fue terrible.
Yes, it was terrible.
Y lo que pasó en 2024 fue también una consecuencia de El Niño.
And what happened in 2024 was also a consequence of El Niño.
El fenómeno climático que hace que el océano Pacífico sea más caliente y que cambia las lluvias en todo el mundo, también en África.
The climate phenomenon that makes the Pacific Ocean warmer and that changes rainfall patterns all over the world, including in Africa.
El Niño, La Niña, and now the question nobody can quite answer: is climate change making those cycles more violent, or just more unpredictable, or both?
Los científicos dicen que las dos cosas.
Scientists say both.
Cuando el clima global es más caliente, los fenómenos como El Niño son más fuertes.
When the global climate is warmer, phenomena like El Niño are stronger.
Hay más agua en la atmósfera porque los océanos son más calientes, y eso significa más lluvia en menos tiempo.
There is more water in the atmosphere because the oceans are warmer, and that means more rain in less time.
More rain in less time.
That phrase sounds almost abstract until you're standing next to a riverbank that's moved forty meters in a night.
Y hay otro problema muy importante en Kenia: la deforestación.
And there is another very important problem in Kenya: deforestation.
Kenia perdió muchos bosques en las últimas décadas, especialmente en las tierras altas.
Kenya lost many forests in the last few decades, especially in the highlands.
Cuando no hay árboles, la tierra no puede absorber el agua.
When there are no trees, the ground cannot absorb the water.
El agua va directamente a los ríos.
The water goes directly to the rivers.
The Mau Forest Complex.
That's the one that's been at the center of decades of argument in Kenya.
It's the largest highland forest in East Africa and it feeds something like twelve major rivers, including ones that drain into Lake Victoria.
Exacto.
Exactly.
Y ese bosque perdió casi la mitad de su superficie en treinta años.
And that forest lost almost half its area in thirty years.
Los gobiernos kenianos intentaron recuperarlo, pero es muy difícil porque muchas personas vivían allí.
Kenyan governments tried to restore it, but it's very difficult because many people were living there.
Fue un problema político enorme.
It was a huge political problem.
There was a mass eviction in 2009 under Kibaki's government that was genuinely brutal.
Families displaced, homes burned.
And the justification was environmental restoration.
That tension, people versus forest, is not a simple story.
No, claro que no.
No, of course not.
La realidad es que las personas más pobres necesitan la tierra para sobrevivir.
The reality is that the poorest people need the land to survive.
Pero cuando cortan los árboles, el clima cambia y también sufren.
But when they cut the trees, the climate changes and they suffer too.
Es un círculo muy difícil de romper.
It's a very difficult circle to break.
A poverty trap with a climate dimension.
The people least responsible for global emissions are absorbing the worst of the consequences.
Sí.
Yes.
Y Kenia, como muchos países africanos, emite muy poco CO₂ comparado con Europa o Estados Unidos.
And Kenya, like many African countries, emits very little CO₂ compared to Europe or the United States.
Pero las inundaciones, las sequías, los deslizamientos de tierra, todo eso pasa en Kenia, no en Texas.
But the floods, the droughts, the landslides, all of that happens in Kenya, not in Texas.
I want to hold on that for a second because it's worth saying plainly.
Kenya's per capita carbon emissions are roughly 0.4 tonnes per year.
The U.S.
average is about fifteen.
We're talking about a ratio of nearly forty to one.
Y eso es lo que hace tan difícil la conversación sobre el clima.
And that is what makes the conversation about climate so difficult.
Los países ricos contaminaron mucho durante dos siglos para desarrollarse.
The rich countries polluted a great deal for two centuries to develop.
Ahora piden a los países pobres que no usen los mismos métodos.
Now they ask poor countries not to use the same methods.
Es comprensible que haya mucha frustración.
It is understandable that there is a lot of frustration.
William Ruto, Kenya's president, has actually been one of the more vocal African leaders on this.
He's pushed hard for climate finance, the idea that wealthy nations have a debt to pay toward countries absorbing the costs of a crisis they barely caused.
Sí, Ruto habló mucho en la COP de 2023 y también en otros foros internacionales.
Yes, Ruto spoke a great deal at COP in 2023 and also at other international forums.
Dijo algo muy directo: África no puede pagar por los errores de otros países.
He said something very direct: Africa cannot pay for the mistakes of other countries.
Fue un momento importante.
It was an important moment.
And the pledges keep coming, and the money, frankly, keeps not arriving in the amounts that were promised.
That gap between what's announced at a summit and what actually flows to a country like Kenya is enormous.
Es verdad.
That's true.
Pero también hay algo positivo.
But there is also something positive.
Kenia tiene más energía renovable que muchos países.
Kenya has more renewable energy than many countries.
Casi el ochenta por ciento de su electricidad viene de fuentes renovables, principalmente geotérmica e hidroeléctrica.
Almost eighty percent of its electricity comes from renewable sources, mainly geothermal and hydroelectric.
En ese sentido, es un ejemplo para el mundo.
In that sense, it is an example for the world.
The Olkaria geothermal fields.
I visited once, years back, steam venting out of the Rift Valley like something from another planet.
Kenya sits on the East African Rift and that geological bad luck turns out to be a huge energy asset.
Exacto.
Exactly.
Y la energía geotérmica no depende de la lluvia, que es importante porque la energía hidroeléctrica sí depende del agua.
And geothermal energy does not depend on rain, which is important because hydroelectric energy does depend on water.
Cuando hay sequía, los embalses bajan y hay menos electricidad.
When there is a drought, the reservoirs go down and there is less electricity.
Kenia aprendió esa lección varias veces.
Kenya learned that lesson several times.
So you get this strange situation where too much rain causes death and displacement, and too little rain cuts the power.
The country is caught between extremes, and both directions are getting worse.
Y hay otro problema que la gente no habla mucho: el desplazamiento.
And there is another problem that people don't talk about much: displacement.
Cuando hay inundaciones grandes, muchas familias pierden su casa.
When there are big floods, many families lose their home.
No van a un refugio por un día, algunas personas no pueden volver nunca porque su barrio quedó destruido.
They don't go to a shelter for a day, some people can never go back because their neighborhood was destroyed.
Climate displacement in urban areas is one of the least-covered humanitarian stories of this decade.
Nairobi has expanded enormously since the 1990s, and a huge portion of that growth happened in flood-prone low-lying areas near rivers, because that's where the land was affordable.
Sí, y eso es un problema de planificación urbana y también de desigualdad.
Yes, and that is a problem of urban planning and also of inequality.
Las personas con más dinero viven en las zonas altas, más seguras.
People with more money live in the higher zones, which are safer.
Las personas con menos dinero viven cerca de los ríos.
People with less money live near the rivers.
Cuando llueve mucho, los ricos están bien y los pobres sufren.
When it rains a lot, the wealthy are fine and the poor suffer.
That geography of risk is not unique to Kenya.
It shows up in Houston, in Jakarta, in Mumbai.
Flood risk maps almost perfectly onto poverty maps in cities all over the world.
Es una realidad muy dura.
It is a very hard reality.
Pero quiero añadir algo importante: en Kenia también hay personas que trabajan mucho para cambiar esto.
But I want to add something important: in Kenya there are also people working very hard to change this.
Hay organizaciones que plantan árboles, comunidades que construyen sistemas para recoger el agua de lluvia, agricultores que aprenden nuevas técnicas.
There are organizations planting trees, communities building systems to collect rainwater, farmers learning new techniques.
The Green Belt Movement.
Wangari Maathai's organization.
She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, which was a genuine surprise to a lot of people because it wasn't a peace prize in the traditional sense, it was about trees and women and local democracy, and the committee had the wisdom to see that as the same thing.
Wangari Maathai fue una figura increíble.
Wangari Maathai was an incredible figure.
Empezó el movimiento con una idea muy simple: las mujeres de las comunidades rurales podían plantar árboles para recuperar el medioambiente.
She started the movement with a very simple idea: women in rural communities could plant trees to restore the environment.
Plantaron más de cincuenta millones de árboles en África.
They planted more than fifty million trees in Africa.
Fifty million trees.
And she died in 2011, but the movement continues.
The point being: when we talk about climate adaptation in Kenya, it's not just a story of suffering and waiting for help from rich countries.
There's real agency at the community level.
Exactamente.
Exactly.
Y creo que eso es lo más importante.
And I think that is the most important thing.
Las soluciones no siempre vienen de los gobiernos o de las organizaciones internacionales.
Solutions don't always come from governments or international organizations.
A veces la gente local sabe mejor qué necesita su tierra y su comunidad.
Sometimes local people know better what their land and community need.
Octavio, you used the verb "desbordar" a while back, when the rivers overflow.
I caught myself not being entirely sure how that word works.
Is it always about water, or does it go wider than that?
Buena pregunta.
Good question.
"Desbordarse" significa salir de sus límites, literalmente.
'Desbordarse' means to go beyond its limits, literally.
Un río se desborda cuando el agua sale del río.
A river overflows when the water leaves the river.
Pero también puedes decir que una persona "se desbordó" cuando perdió el control de sus emociones.
But you can also say that a person 'se desbordó' when they lost control of their emotions.
"Estaba tan enfadado que se desbordó."
'He was so angry that he overflowed.'
So it's the same move as in English, 'he overflowed with emotion', except in Spanish it sounds less like a metaphor and more like a fact.
There's something I like about that.
Sí, exacto.
Yes, exactly.
Y también puedes decir "la situación se desbordó", que significa que la situación se salió de control.
And you can also say 'la situación se desbordó,' meaning the situation got out of control.
O "el estadio se desbordó de gente", que el estadio estaba completamente lleno, demasiado lleno.
Or 'el estadio se desbordó de gente,' that the stadium was completely full, too full.
Es una palabra muy versátil.
It is a very versatile word.
A word that works for rivers, crowds, people, and situations.
Somehow I would have found a way to use it wrong in all four categories.
Fletcher, con tu historial, creo que puedes usarla así: "Me desbordé de vergüenza cuando confundí 'embarazado' con 'avergonzado'." Eso es perfecto, y también es verdad.
Fletcher, with your track record, I think you can use it like this: 'I overflowed with embarrassment when I confused embarazado with avergonzado.' That is perfect, and also completely true.