The purpose of this study is to assess effects of climate change and variability on ruralrnlivelihoods and responses in Soro woreda, Hadiya zone, SNNPR. Thus, the study soughtrnto examine the pattern of rainfall and temperature in the last three decades, to explorerneffects of climate change and variability on rural livelihoods and to assess individualsâ€™rncommunities and institutions response and identify the group of society most vulnerablernto and impacted by the existing climate related stresses. To achieve the objectives set,rnappropriate data was collected from three sample kebeles which were selected throughrnstratified sampling method based on their agro-ecologic conditions. And 96 householdrnheads were purposively selected from the three sample kebeles. In addition, three FGDrneach composed of 6 individuals from different socio-economic status and age groupsrnwere selected and used as primary sources of information. Key informant interview wasrnconducted with experts from SWARDO and DAs. The finding of the study reveals thatrnsome elements of climate (temperature and rainfall) show inter annual and seasonalrnvariability with slightly increasing trend. And the main source of income in the studyrnarea is rain fed agriculture which is being adversely affected by unpredictable andrndecreasing rainfall, hailstorms and flooding, high temperature etc. To adapt to thernchanging climate of the area, farmers are already practicing long aged copingrnmechanisms and adaptation strategies along with some government interventions inrnresponse to the CC and variability. This study also identified women, children andrnelderly, the poor ad landless as most vulnerable to the existing CC and variability effects.rnTherefore, depending on the finding of the study, the following policy recommendationsrnare forwarded are: increasing farmersâ€™ awareness on how to use agriculturalrntechnologies & inputs, restoring the degraded environment, facilitating access to creditrnservices, diversifying source of income, building the capacity of farmers & encouragingrnCBA strategies as the main poverty reduction approach.rnKey words: Climate change/variability, livelihoods, coping mechanisms, adaptationrnstrategies.