ABIDJAN: Africa faces a disproportionate burden from climate change and the costs of adapting, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a new report on Monday, revealing that the continent is experiencing warming at a rate faster than the global average.
The report details the severe consequences of climate-related events and stresses the urgent need for increased support for Africa’s adaptation efforts.
According to the WMO’s “State of the Climate in Africa” report, Africa has warmed at an average rate of approximately 0.3 degrees Celsius per decade between 1991 and 2023, surpassing the global average. The report highlights North Africa as the region experiencing the most rapid warming, with Morocco’s city of Agadir recording an unprecedented maximum temperature of 50.4 degrees Celsius.
The report also notes extreme weather events across the continent, including severe rainfall leading to widespread flooding. In September and October, around 300,000 people across 10 countries were affected by floods, with Niger, Benin, Ghana, and Nigeria facing the most significant impacts. This followed earlier flooding in Libya and parts of East Africa.
In addition to flooding, Zambia has faced its worst drought in four decades, affecting approximately six million people. Other African nations have also struggled with severe droughts throughout 2023. The WMO report states that these climate extremes have had a detrimental impact on food security, with many countries experiencing significant economic losses.
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African nations, on average, are losing between 2 to 5 percent of their gross domestic product due to climate extremes, with some countries diverting up to 9 percent of their budgets to address these issues. The report warns that without adequate measures, up to 118 million people in Africa living on less than $1.90 a day could face increased exposure to drought, floods, and extreme heat by 2030.
Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment at the African Union Commission, emphasized the severe consequences of climate change in the WMO report. She noted that climate-related weather events and patterns are causing extensive humanitarian crises, with far-reaching impacts on agriculture, food security, education, energy, infrastructure, peace, security, public health, water resources, and overall socio-economic development.
The report also highlights a critical gap in early warning systems, which are vital for mitigating the effects of extreme weather. Despite Africa accounting for 35 percent of weather, climate, and water-related fatalities between 1970 and 2021, only 40 percent of the continent’s population has access to early warning systems, the lowest rate globally.
