Just days before world leaders at a major climate conference in
Durban, South Africa, announced the creation of a fund to help
poor countries deal with the effects of global-warming and
climate change, floods continued to threaten major towns around
Kenya. In Nairobi, heavy rains caused the Nairobi River to spill
its banks and flood the nearby Kibera slum. Standing in the
doorway of her home in the city’s largest slum, Margaret Otieno
expressed fear and confusion about the rising waters. "One
moment it is sunny, the next minute it is raining heavily,”
Otieno said. “This Nairobi weather has become very
unpredictable.” The floods have killed dozens and left tens of
thousands homeless, the Kenya Red Cross said. Above all, they
have shocked residents and officials who until recent weeks were
reckoning with a record-setting drought, Kenya's worst in
decades. “The magnitude of the challenges facing African
countries as a result of climate change is of wartime
proportions,” said Calestous Juma, who teaches internati