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full screen Rescue workers in the Libyan city of Derna search for victims after the floods caused by Storm Daniel in September 2023. Photo: Yousef Murad/AP/TT
Up to 118 million people in Africa will be affected by droughts, floods and extreme heat waves until 2030. The worst affected will be the already very poor, according to the World Meteorological Organization WMO’s report.
Climate change is hitting the African continent hard, states the WMO in a new report. On average, an African country loses up to five percent of its GDP as a result of extreme weather events. As an example, Africa’s grain production in 2023 was a full ten percent lower than the average for the past five years.
Extreme heat in Morocco
2023 was among the top three warmest in Africa in the last 124 years. The average temperature was 1.23 degrees warmer than between 1961 and 1990. New heat records of 49 and 50 degrees were measured in Tunisia and Morocco.
“For the past 60 years, Africa has had a warming trend that has been faster than the global average. In 2023, the continent endured deadly heat waves, heavy rains, floods, tropical cyclones and long periods of drought,” said Celese Saulo, WMO Secretary-General in a statement.
Climate adaptation is required
In addition to heat waves, heavy downpours and floods have caused catastrophic events in several African countries. In September, storm Daniel caused floods in Libya that killed 4,700 people. In countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Benin and Niger, 300,000 people were affected by other floods.
The WMO also writes that it is crucial that African countries invest in infrastructure and warning systems to be prepared for further extreme events. In the countries south of the Sahara, climate adaptation will have to cost between 30 and 50 billion dollars per year for the next ten years, according to their calculations.