www.ijird.com June, 2018 Vol 7 Issue 6 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT DOI No. : 10.24940/ ijird/ 2018/ v7/ i6/ JUN18O83 Page 223 The Evidence of Changing Rainfall Patterns in Kajiado County, Kenya 1. Introduction The impacts of climate variability and change has been felt across the globe, however, there is a general consensus that African continent is particularly susceptible (Boko et al., 2007). In the last decade alone, the African continent has been faced with serious food insecurity attributed to successive droughts (FAO, 2010). According to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2013) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) African continent has experienced a general warming trend since 1960s. The AR5 report further reiterates that majority of Africans have limited capacity to adapt to climate shifts. Though each Country is unique, such occurrences are likely to exacerbate the already existing dire conditions in the region characterized with inequitable land distribution and over-dependence on rain-fed agriculture system (Notenbaert et al., 2013; Lo´pez-Carr et al., 2014). Which have resulted into widespread poverty, food insecurity and land degradation (Notenbaert et al., 2013; Lo´pez-Carr et al., 2014). In the last decade, the Maasai pastoralists’ in their large numbers have shouldered the disproportionate burden of food insecurity as a resultant in the climate shifts (Adger, 2001, 2003; Burton et al., 2006). 2. Study Area, Data and Method of Analysis The precipitation characteristics were analyzed considering that soil moisture levels affect natural resources which the Maasai pastoralists in Kajiado County were highly dependent on. Indeed, precipitation affect pasture availability. Thus, the precipitation data sets were aggregated and downscaled using shape files from global Climate Hazards group Infra-Red Precipitation with Stations dataset (CHIRPS) for the period 1983-2014. This involve targeting data sets specific to Kajiado County on the basis of shape files containing ancillary data from International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) accurately capturing the roads, rivers and administrative boundaries were an analyzed for annual and season averages using Microsoft excel. ISSN 2278 – 0211 (Online) James Kaoga PhD. Student, Institute for Climate Change and Adaptation, Nairobi, Kenya George Ouma Professor, Institute for Climate Change and Adaptation, Nairobi, Kenya Dan Olago Professor, Institute for Climate Change and Adaptation, Nairobi, Kenya Gilbert Ouma Senior Lecturer, Institute for Climate Change and Adaptation, Nairobi, Kenya Abstract: The Maasai pastoralists have in the past decade experienced disruptions as precipitation season shifts. These shifts have adversely affected their economies and livelihoods. Moreover, they have been losing up to 30 % of their herd annually to drought related disasters, yet the locals’ capacity on climate pattern shifts is inadequate. To address this gap, a study focused on Kajiado County due to its harboring large of livestock. The study aimed at determining the historical precipitation characteristics. To achieve this, the study utilized Climate Hazards group Infra-Red Precipitation with Stations data set (CHIRPS) for the period 1983-2014 for each of the five sub-counties within Kajiado County. The key findings, encompassed: declining trend in the average annual precipitation; shifting from the usual bi-modal rainfall seasons with March to May (MAM) experiencing worst failure compared to October to December (OND) and the shortening of the famine cycles. Keywords: Climate change, precipitation, arid and semi -arid lands, pastoral livelihood system