Feb 8, 2021 When drought hits the Horn of Africa, it’s a threat to lives and livelihoods. Communities need access to water for sanitation, hydration, livestock and agriculture – and, in many cases, tapping groundwater supplies is the difference between a “drought” and a “drought emergency”. But maintaining the thousands of groundwater pumps that supply fresh water to drought-prone areas in east Africa is a significant challenge. NASA satellite data helps the people who maintain this crucial infrastructure by highlighting the places most at-risk for drought and informing early warning actions to prevent the worst drought impacts on local communities. Evan Thomas, director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering, in Turkana, Kenya.