Because of its low adaptive capacity, poor diffusion of technologies and information relevant to supporting adaptation, and high reliance on agro-ecosystems for livelihoods, Africa is among the world’s developing countries with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions, making it the most vulnerable to climate change.
According to a new multi-agency report coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), changing precipitation patterns, rising temperatures, and more extreme weather contributed to rising food insecurity, poverty, and displacement in Africa in 2020, compounding the socio-economic and health crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
What this means for Africa
If this continues, by 2030, 100 million Africans will be threatened by global warming, says the WMO report on the State of the Climate in Africa 2020. The acceleration of global warming on the continent, where rare glaciers are likely to vanish by the 2040s, threatens a hundred million severely poor people.
Currently, there are three African mountains that are covered by glaciers; Mount Kenya in Kenya, Mount Rwenzori in Uganda, and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and their current retreat rates are faster than the global average, according to a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) assessment on the state of Africa’s climate.
This is because, by 2020, Africa has warmed faster than the global average, land, and ocean combined, according to the paper. The rate of sea-level rise along with its tropical, South Atlantic, and Indian Ocean shores is also faster than the world average, at roughly 3.6 and 4.1 millimeters per year, respectively.
In the report’s foreword, Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, the African Union (AU) Commission’s Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, commented: “By 2030, it is estimated that up to 118 million extremely poor people, particularly those living on less than $1.90 per day will be exposed to drought, floods, and extreme heat in Africa if adequate measures are not taken.”
WMO urges Africa to invest in hydro-meteorological infrastructure and early warning systems to combat the rise in high-impact hazardous weather events.
According to household surveys conducted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Niger, and Tanzania, improving access to early warning systems, food price information, and weather information (simple text or voice messages informing farmers when to plant, irrigate, or fertilize) could reduce the risk of food insecurity by 30%.
According to the research, $30 billion to $50 billion (€25 billion to €43 billion) each year should be committed to programs that help Africa adapt to climate change. These operations are expected to boost the economy and create jobs.
