During the 2016 drought in the RMI, WASH cluster, under the Office of the Chief/National Disaster Management Office conducted assessments to analyze the impacts of the drought.
This plan is not focused on improving infrastructure (pipes, pumps, tanks), it is about people can do with the resources that they have. It is focused on building Island Level capacity to manage drought by improving communication and guiding the actions that can be taken before the worst effects of drought occur – this will help to improve the quality of life in Abaiang villages during drought. These measures need to be taken at a village and household level and this plan will help the villages decide what actions to take before and during drought.
This study addresses rainfall trends, the frequency of droughts, La Niña influences and the relationship between rainfall and Sea Surface Temperature (SST) in Tuvalu. The findings revealed that;
* de-trended rainfall time series show declining trends in all four rainfall stations over the period 1953-2012;
* the frequency of drought ranges from three to fourteen years with a mean of nine years
* the occurrence of drought appears to follow the La Niña years
* boplots provide an effective option for defining drought