POTCHEFSTROOM, South Africa — Standing waist-deep in a hole, South African maize farmer Tom van Rooyen digs at the side with a small pickaxe. “There is moisture 25 cms down but nothing beyond that. If we get below-average rains, it will be a disaster,” he said, wiping the red dust from his calloused hands. Poor rains are forecast for South Africa's maize belt because of the El Nino weather pattern, expected to bring more drought to already-parched southern regions in Africa and potential flooding in the east. This will add misery to the world's poorest continent, already reeling from a collapse in commodity prices triggered by China's slowing economic growth. Aid agency Oxfam warned this week that 10 million people, mostly in Africa, face hunger because of droughts and unusual rainfall patterns caused by a “super” El Nino. While the weather phenomenon heralds drought in some parts of the globe and flooding in others, this one follows record temperatures linked to global warming. — Reuters
