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Rising water levels in the Rift Valley lakes have displaced thousands of people and submerged farms, homes, and businesses, with scientists pointing to climate change as a major driver of the crisis.
According to scientific findings, the rising waters are mainly due to changes in rainfall patterns and temperatures linked to climate change. Increased and prolonged rainfall has caused more runoff into the Rift Valley lakes, which have no natural outlets.
Also, sedimentation from farming and land degradation has worsened the problem by reducing lake depth and capacity, causing water to spread sideways rather than deepen.
In 2008, Lake Naivasha’s shoreline was more than two kilometres from Dickson Ngome’s 1.5-acre vegetable farm, which is currently submerged by the lake following an overnight surge of floodwater in October 2025.
Aerial view of Lake Naivasha.
Photo
Geography of Kenya
Once feared to be shrinking into oblivion, the lake has steadily expanded in the past decade, with this year’s rains, beginning in September, pushing water levels into nearby settlements.
“It seemed as if the lake was far from our homes, and then one night we were shocked to find our houses flooded,” Ngome’s wife, Rose Wafula, recapped.
Since the beginning of the flooding, approximately 5,000 people have been displaced around Lake Naivasha alone this year, according to local authorities.
However, the flooding situation is not unique to Lake Naivasha alone. Rises in Rift Valley Lakes Nakuru, Baringo, and Turkana over the past 15 years have been displacing entire villages and submerging infrastructure.
Simon Onywere, an environmental planning lecturer at Kenyatta University, noted that Lake Baringo’s water levels rose by nearly 14 metres, permanently submerging hotels and buildings.
A 2024 study published in the ‘Journal of Hydrology’ found that lake surface areas across East Africa expanded by more than 71,000 square kilometres between 2011 and 2023.
In Kenya’s Rift Valley alone, over 75,000 households had been displaced by flooding of lakes as of 2021.
Scientists warn that without long-term climate adaptation, better land-use planning, and environmental conservation, Kenya’s rising lakes will continue to uproot lives and livelihoods.
The floodwaters around Lake Naivasha are allowing Hippopotamuses to encroach into areas inhabited by humans.
Photo
Edward Mwasi
