Climate Witness Stories: It always used to rain at Christmas

From the WWF Climate Blog

Viterbo, Italy – In Kericho, Kenya, Christmas always used to be celebrated in heavy rain.
“Today, Christmas is usually dry,” said Mrs Nelly Damaris Chepkoskei, a 53 year old farmer who works extensively with the women of her community.

With 10 days to go to the opening of the Copenhagen climate summit, Chepkoskei is one of 10 climate witnesses now in Viterbo, Italy for a Greenaccord event to enable journalists to share information and learn from experts about climate change.

WWF’s climate witness programme has supported people from diverse communities in many countries to tell the world of the growing impacts of climate change on their lives.

“I have witnessed many changes myself and what is disturbing us most are changes to the weather,” said Chepkoskei.

“Rainfall patterns have changed drastically in the last decades. Here in the Kericho District we used to have rainfall throughout the year. I remember clearly that my family celebrated Christmas when it was raining heavily, but this has changed completely.”

Many of the climate witnesses now telling their stories at Viterbo are travelling on to Copenhagen, hoping to dramatise to negotiators and Heads of State the human costs of not concluding a binding legal agreement to limit emissions and assist developing nations in particular adapt to climate change impacts.

“This place was really beautiful, when I was young,” said 67 year old herder Mrs Marush Narankhuu of her homeland at Tsagaan gol (White river) at the Chandmani soum of Khovd aimag in Mongolia. “There was grass everywhere and we had great and rich summers, winters, spring and fall.

“The herdsmen used to come from the nearest soum, Mankhan, Chandmani and Zereg for the pasture.
“Khar Us Lake has evaporated dramatically within the last four to five years. Even small hand-wells have dried up. There were many small ponds around the lake. None of them exist now.”

Diego Redini, 30, who lives at Canneto sull’Oglio, a small village of the Padana Plain in Italy, noted that, ”In the last few years summer temperatures have reached very high levels and have been accompanied by a strong humidity, which is a bad climate for cattle.

“In these conditions, in the summer a milk cow produces one third less milk compared to the winter.”

Climate Witnesses are already active in their lives and with their communities taking action to deal with climate change impacts and towards reducing their carbon emissions. They are joining with WWF to call on world leaders to also take strong action on climate change and have the courage to sign a new global climate deal in Copenhagen.