Drought conditions persisted in most parts of the country during the first half of April. Pasture and water are in poor conditions and close to depletion in most areas of key pastoral livelihoods across Somalia. Significant rainfall amounts with good temporal distribution will be required to reverse the current state. The Gu rains normally start in late March in the north western parts of the country and late March / early April in the rest of the country. However, the rains came late in north western regions, and are yet to start in many other parts of the country, which creates doubts among the humanitarian actors in Somalia about the future food security and water availability. Local oceanic systems including the recent cyclones around Mozambique have weakened the rainfall generating mechanism in Somalia and the Horn of Africa in general. River levels increased slightly over the last few days following rains in the Ethiopian highlands. The levels are however below their normal in both Juba and Shabelle rivers during this time of the year.