Research at the University of York suggests that, as in the past, human societies in East Africa will face significant challenges to livelihoods in the future, due to the rapid rate of climate change.

Focusing on East Africa, data from 6000 years of land-history and environmental change, shows that in the past humans were able to adapt or move when the climate became dryer, by changing from an agricultural-based society to a pastoral one, or changing crop types for example, but extensive land-use today and population size means that it is much harder to move or adapt as the climate changes.