this is "nightline." >> tonight, marry me. it's the latest twist on wedded bliss. women around the world getting married to themselves. >> i've been told i'm a great catch, and today i'm catching myself. >> complete with white gowns, engagement rings, and walks down the aisle. how much do you love yourself? >> i'm getting engaged. to myself. i don't want you to think i'm some kind of nut job. plus a climate for conflict. our journey to a nation torn by war, under threat of terrorism, now ravaged by severe drought. >> we keep each other alive because this environment is not giving us anymore. >> food shortages forcing desperate families to flee. why this once lush country has become a desert wasteland.

and warnings. from isis to the levees breaking in new orleans to the "challenger" explosion. former national security official richard clarke sounding the alarm about what he says are preventable catastrophes and the threats he claims are being ignored today. but first, the "nightline" 5. number 1 in just 60 seconds. ♪ ♪

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good evening and thank you for joining us. i'm rebecca jarvis. tonight we follow two young journalists to somalia, where terrorism, armed conflict, drought and famine threaten everyday life. they say it's exacerbated by climate change and the human consequences are many, as you will see on this collaboration between abc news and the ground truth project. here's abc anchor byron pitts. somalia, a coastal nation home to approximately 11 million people. it's the kind of place we the outside world rarely see. having fallen into despair since the civil war in 1991. rampant attacks by terrorist groups like al shabab. this is a country in the grip of conflict. for many americans it's the grim place where u.s. service members were killed. retold in the movie "black hawk down."

scientists now say the country is facing a new threat, global warming, and it's pushing somalis to the brink. kenya-based journalist laura heaton and nicole sabeki embark on a journey to show how people here are being devastated by climate change and environmental destruction. they set out to follow in the steps of a man who had been ambushed and kidnapped in 2008. british scientist dr. murray watson. >> have you heard of a guy named dr. murray watson? he was here mostly in the '70s and early '80s. >> reporter: watson had taken these images of somalia in the 1980s, which show a country lush with life. his disappearance remains a mystery to this day. >> i think we found the spot where this photograph was taken. >> reporter: using his photos as a guide to track how the land has deteriorated, they trek across the country, meeting the people whose lives have been shattered by a changing environment. momina fereh has spent weeks crossing this desolate

landscape. she's part of a community trying so far in vain to find fertile land. >> translator: we call it duga, or bury. it has buried everything. >> reporter: a severe drought set in two years ago is drying up food and water and killing the livestock, a lifeline for these communities. >> translator: i lost 100 goats, 10 cows and camels, and four donkeys. it has already killed the animals. we believe humans are next. >> with this weather pattern somalia or somalis will not survive. maybe the land, a piece of desert called somalia will exist on the map of the world but somalis cannot survive. that's a fact. >> reporter: 6.2 million somalis are now in urgent need of humanitarian assistance according to the u.n. they say it's the worst humanitarian crisis since world

war ii. >> we eat each other alive because this environment is not giving us anymore and the survival will depend on the strongest. >> translator: in my 45 years i've never seen this kind of a drought that's killed our animals. it's the worst one. >> reporter: for years dao muhammad was able to support his family off a small farm and animals. but when the drought hit, his crops failed and now almost all of his livestock has died. >> translator: livestock brings wealth, and if you don't have livestock then you don't have a way to survive. >> reporter: he's working against the elements to try to hang on to what little he has left and fears how he will provide for his family. >> translator: if you have a family and you lose your livestock and there is drought, you'll do anything to feed the children. >> reporter: if the drought continues at this rate, farmers

like ali yusa stand to lose what little they have left. >> translator: i believe if it continues to be this way, i think there will be no life. may god not make that happen. i think that in somalia or even in africa if that happens life will not continue because people depend on rain. >> reporter: ali is lucky to live next to a community well that he can use to irrigate his crops and feed his family for now. ali's family knows firsthand the kind of violence that can be sparked by the effects of an increasingly parched environment. >> translator: this bullet was shot from behind that tree where the person was hiding. >> reporter: he tells us that just two weeks earlier his cousin muhammad was murdered in a fight over land, shot twice by another man. evidence of that shootout still visible. >> translator: if the rains continue to be less and less, we'll all lose what we have. >> reporter: some have taken to the sea for resources. but the food supply there is also dwindling. it's early morning at the basaso port in eastern somalia.

today's catch was a good one. there's no telling if tomorrow's will be. illegal fishing is pilfering the food supply and destroying marine life. some somali fishermen have taken matters into their own hands. >> translator: they are the ones who attacked us, taking with them our fishing tools, the lobsters and the sharks. >> reporter: abdi qatar hassan, a former pirate who took to the sea to fight back, he says after becoming angry that the somali government wasn't doing anything to protect his community from illegal fishing. >> translator: in the end our only choice was to collect amongst ourselves fuel, ak-47s, and money to buy guns. >> reporter: some experts say the actual root cause of piracy is tied to the destruction of the environment, which is what drove men like abdi qatar to the seas in the first place. >> translator: we felt that we were sacrificing our lives for our country and for our people. >> reporter: today the government is more actively trying to combat illegal

fishing. these maritime policemen are out in full force patrolling the waters. they come across a fishing boat they deem suspicious. so they board it looking for weapons. they find it's all clear. the fishermen are allowed to continue on. because so many here are starving, fleeing is often the only option. many somalis took to refugee camps like one of the world's largest in neighboring kenya. >> how are you doing? good. >> reporter: the refugee camp is a strange purgatory filled with people trying to create some semblance of their past. it's routines like this that bring a sense of normalcy to people like muhammad abukar.

he lives here with his wife, habiba and their five children. he tells us he lived in an area of somalia controlled by the terrorist group al shabab, but he says he feared starving to death more than terrorism. >> translator: between insecurity and drought, the drought is worse. if a person has food and he's killed or arrested, it's not bad. but it's worse when someone dies of hunger. >> reporter: but even what little they have here is in peril. as the kenyan government threatens to close the camp, citing national security concerns. though returning the land to the abundance depicted in those photos from murray watson is remote at best, those living in somalia are trying to make the best of the cruel hand they've been dealt and holding out hope for the next generation of somalis. for "nightline" i'm byron pitts in new york. >> you can learn much more about the larger project living proof, the human consequences of climate change on abcnews.com. next, no more waiting for mr. or mrs. right. now some singles are marrying themselves.

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julia child said the secret of a happy marriage is finding the right person. you know they're right if you love to be with them all the time. some women today are taking that sentiment to heart in dramatic fashion by getting married to themselves. here's abc's linsey davis with another look. by all accounts erica anderson's wedding was perfect.

>> i was on cloud 9. it was delightful. >> she had the wedding dress, the vows. >> i choose you today. >> reporter: all the accouterments of a traditional wedding. >> rose. yeah. and had like 20, 30 friends over. >> reporter: the only thing missing, the groom. >> i will throw the bouquet somewhere. >> reporter: for the 36-year-old tying the knot was all about making a formal commitment to the love of her life, herself. >> yeah, i've been told i'm a great catch. and today i'm catching myself. >> do you feel like part of it was just an outward self-validation? >> absolutely. because i think it's hard not to adopt whatever society's messages are. and i certainly think that one of the messages is you're not enough if you're not with someone else. >> hi. it's carrie bradshaw. i wanted to let you know that i'm getting married to myself. >> reporter: the notion of getting hitched solo was made popular by the show "sex and the

city." >> think about it. if you are single after graduation there isn't one occasion where people celebrate you. >> reporter: a pivotal scene -- >> so thanks. bye. >> reporter: -- that sparked the beginning of this self-loving movement. >> one giant step for me. one small step for single women kind. >> reporter: these ceremonies are just one way in which men and women are embracing a modern-day reality. there are more single women than ever. roughly half of all adults in the u.s. are married. a record low compared to the 72% of adults in 1960. >> you're breaking the box entirely. >> reporter: sasha kagan has been following the self-marriage trend for more than a decade. >> i think it helps to deepen that commitment to self-love, which just isn't an easy thing in our world where we're constantly comparing ourselves on facebook. >> reporter: cagan knows firsthand. she too married herself. >> basically, it makes you more developed as a person. you're committed to treating yourself well. and that means you're going to treat another person better too.

>> reporter: this concept is slowly going mainstream. >> dearly beloved, we are gathered today to join sue sylvester and sue sylvester in holy matrimony. >> reporter: from tv shows like "glee" -- >> this is insane. >> reporter: to this lifetime movie. >> and i cherish myself. >> well, then why don't you just marry yourself? >> reporter: appropriately called "i me wed." >> you know, that's not such a bad idea. watch me. >> reporter: and the wedding industry is taking notice. the i married me kit is essentially a starter kit for self-marriages. >> we wanted this to be super accessible. >> reporter: jeffrey levine and bonnie powers are the masterminds behind the kit. they say they were inspired by their own nuptials. while they said their vows, they had their guests marry themselves. >> the idea was i think a lot of people don't know how would i even start, what would i do. >> reporter: in the last three years they've sold more than 200 kits and counting as more women choose to embrace this new

tradition. >> getting married here is -- yeah, it's everything that i could have wanted. >> reporter: petra hansen also chose to put a ring on it. >> i kept getting the question, like how come you're not married? why aren't you married? and what's wrong with you for not being married? and i was getting a little tired of answering that question. >> reporter: so she took a stand. >> a woman's chance to be and bothworthy in our culture i actually measured in dog years. we are really given this little window to find a mate, find a family, have it all. you know, before we're 35. and it just isn't ridiculous. >> reporter: she's lived a successful life. a fashion designer by trade, even a rock star at one point. but marriage she says was never part of her plan. >> toward the end of my 30s things started to kind of wind down, and by 40 that's when i started to feel the real pressure of gee, i missed the boat. >> i'm thinking tulle. i'm thinking bright colors.

>> reporter: but she says this is another option. and while buying the ring and sketching the dress were easy -- >> i wanted to make an announcement. >> reporter: -- turns out telling loved ones about her plan is slightly more difficult. >> i'm getting engaged to myself. >> whoa. >> i'm getting married. >> i have more questions. >> okay. i just don't want to be -- i don't want you to think i'm some kind of nut job. >> it doesn't hurt anyone. it doesn't take away from anyone that you're celebrating your own relationship to yourself. >> reporter: validation from a friend. >> some people say the first year is the most difficult. >> we've had some ups and downs. >> yes. >> reporter: as for erika anderson, she recently celebrated her one-year anniversary. >> has your relationship with yourself changed pre and post wedding ceremony? >> i feel like it has. looking at my relationship to

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ to take advantage of this offer on a volvo s90, visit your local dealer. and finally tonight, a national security expert warns us that warnings don't always work. he says that officials have routinely ignored catastrophic threats despite strong calls to action. and according to him, it's still happening today. here's "nightline" co-anchor dan

harris. >> reporter: on this holiday weekend beefed-up security at parks, parades, and sporting events in the wake of the horrific act of terrorism at the ariana grande concert in manchester just a week ago. with isis claiming responsibility for the attack, it brings into stark relief this question. could the rise of this terror group have been prevented? in his new book "warnings," former national security official and abc news consultant richard clarke says yes. >> two years before it was an organized group an american foreign service officer named robert ford who was very expert in syria and iraq looked at the situation there and said if we don't intervene now and create a pro-american counterweight to the assad government in syria there will be a new terrorist group pop up to fill that vacuum. robert ford was not believed. >> and lift-off. >> reporter: the new book also explores other historic disasters, from the explosion of

the space shuttle "challenger" to the collapse of the levees in new orleans after hurricane katrina. even the bernie madoff scandal. in each case there were people issuing warnings. clark calls these people cassandras. >> a cassandra in greek mythology was a woman cursed by the gods. she could see future disasters, but no one would believe her. >> reporter: clarke should know. he's been called a cassandra as a white house official in the run-up to 9/11. >> no one will believe me. no one will pay any attention to me. there's going a terrible disaster if you you don't do something. and they're saying, look, i lose sleep about this. >> were you losing sleep and were you feeling incredibly frustrated? >> certainly. >> reporter: clarke believes there's a whole series of current threats that are being ignored. >> gene editing. pandemic disease. sea level rise. asteroid impact. these are all phrases that we know. we've heard about. often in science fiction. the problem is they may become fact. >> all told not a cheery book.

>> no, i think it's a very cheery book because what we're saying is if we're right about using these human cassandras to predict the future we can prevent most of those disasters. thanks for watching abc news. and as always, we are online at abcnews.com and on our "nightline" facebook page. good night, america.