Key messages • The Government of Kenya has declared the country’s current drought a national emergency. • The drought began during the October–December 2016 period when rains failed and temperatures were unusually high. • The areas that have received the lowest rainfall are in the northwest and southeast parts of the country. • Scientists with World Weather Attribution Initiative used multiple attribution methods to assess the role climate change and the El Niño Southern Oscillation played in the drought. • The results indicate that the temperatures involved in this drought are hotter than they would have been without the influence of climate change. • The results do not detect a strong climate change signal in the rainfall trend, but the team cannot exclude small changes in the risk of poor rains linked to climate change