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. Limited research has focussed on historical droughts during thepre-instrumental weather-recording period in semi-arid to aridhuman-inhabited environments. Here we describe the unique nature of droughtsover semi-arid central Namibia (southern Africa) between 1850 and 1920. Moreparticularly, our intention is to establish temporal shifts in influence andimpact that historical droughts had on society and the environment duringthis period. This is achieved through scrutinizing documentary recordssourced from a variety of archives and libraries. The primary source ofinformation comes from missionary diaries, letters, and reports. Thesemissionaries were based at a variety of stations across the central Namibianregion and thus collectively provide insight into subregional (or site-specific) differences in hydrometeorological conditions anddrought impactsand responses. The earliest instrumental rainfall records (1891–1913) fromseveral missionary stations or settlements are used to quantifyhydrometeorological conditions and compare them with documentary sources. Thework demonstrates strong subregional contrasts in drought conditions duringsome given drought events and the dire implications of failed rain seasons,the consequences of which lasted for many months to several years. The paperargues that human experience and associated reporting of drought eventsdepends strongly on social, environmental, spatial, and societaldevelopmental situations and perspectives. To this end, the reportedexperiences, impacts, and responses to drought over this 70-year periodportray both common and changeable attributes through time.

climate of the past

“Everything is scorched by the burning sun”: missionary perspectives and experiences of 19th- and early 20th-century droughts in semi-arid central Namibia