# El Niño Drought Disaster (2024)

URL: https://allhistories.com/malawi/timeline/2024-el-nino-drought-disaster
Location: Lilongwe, Malawi
Themes: main-event

The 2023–24 El Niño event brought one of the most severe droughts in decades to Southern Africa. In Malawi a prolonged dry spell struck in January and February 2024, at the critical stage when maize was flowering, and came on top of the destruction caused by Cyclone Freddy, high fertiliser prices and the effects of the November 2023 devaluation. On 23 March 2024 President Lazarus Chakwera declared a state of disaster in 23 of Malawi's 28 districts, following a similar declaration in Zambia. He said that some two million farming households had been affected and that a large part of the national maize crop had been lost, and he appealed for more than 200 million US dollars in humanitarian assistance. The government and aid agencies estimated that millions of people would need food aid during the 2024–25 lean season. The World Food Programme, the African Development Bank and other partners provided aid, and the government imported maize. Rising food prices pushed inflation above 30 per cent and added to hardship already caused by fuel and foreign-exchange shortages. The drought fed public discontent with the government ahead of the 2025 election and renewed debates over irrigation and climate resilience. At this point in the timeline (23 March 2024), the President of Malawi was Lazarus Chakwera (28 June 2020 – 4 October 2025).

## Why it matters
The 2024 drought left millions hungry and deepened the economic crisis that shaped the 2025 election.

Ruler at the Time: [Lazarus Chakwera](https://allhistories.com/malawi/rulers/lazarus-chakwera)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — 2023–2024 El Niño event](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023–2024_El_Niño_event)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Malawi drought](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Malawi+drought)
- [Voice of America — Malawi follows Zambia in declaring drought disaster](https://www.voanews.com/amp/malawi-follows-zambia-in-declaring-drought-disaster/7541174.html)
- [World Food Programme — Malawi](https://www.wfp.org/countries/malawi)
- [Wikipedia — Multiparty Democracy (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Malawi)