The United Nations' migration agency said that in the five out of Somalia's 90 districts that it had surveyed, three out of every four new displacements were attributed to drought, while hunger levels were rising.

In Baidoa, Dayniile, Kahda, Diinsoor and Doolow, the International Organization for Migration warned that worsening drought conditions were driving crop failure and the collapse of livelihoods.

While the numbers beyond those five districts remained unclear, Brian Kelly, IOM's senior programme coordinator for Somalia, said the agency estimated that across the country, "the total figure would be around 300,000".

And even if the Gu rainy season, which runs between April and June, brings above-normal rainfall, nearly 125,000 more people are projected to be displaced by drought during that period, according to IOM's Displacement Tracking Matrix.

Kelly said the current situation was bleak.

"In the hardest hit areas, drought is driving crop failure, livestock losses and water shortages, forcing families to leave their homes in search of assistance," he said.

"Many are moving to urban areas and displacement sites that are already overstretched, where access to shelter, water, and basic services remains limited," he said.

He pointed out that "families were arriving in places like Mogadishu and Baidoa, which can't support them, arriving often after their water has run out, crops have shrivelled, and livestock have died".

At the end of February, UN-backed experts warned that the number of people in Somalia experiencing crisis levels of food insecurity had nearly doubled in the past year to 6.5 million.

"That's almost one out of every three in the country who are facing high levels of hunger," Kelly pointed out, also highlighting that "more than 1. 8 million children are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year".

At the same time, Kelly warned that UN agencies and their partners had received just 14 percent of the total funding requested for humanitarian aid in Somalia this year.

IOM, he said, had recently concluded a "hyper-prioritised needs assessment", and had determined there was an urgent need for $10 million "to save lives and provide a basic level of dignity to the most vulnerable".

"Without swift action, drought will continue to drive displacement," he warned.