From Malawi and Mozambique to Zambia and Zimbabwe, down to Namibia and across to the grain belt of South Africa, a combination of the effects of climate change and the El Niño weather phenomenon has been causing drought, hunger and misery for months. The region, already vulnerable to extreme weather conditions, received only 80 percent of expected rainfall during the summer months in the Southern Hemisphere from November to February, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). February saw the lowest rainfall in 40 years, with temperatures four to five degrees above normal. The result: massive crop failures and food shortages.