Latest news with #StateoftheClimateinAfrica2024
See - Sada Elbalad
13-05-2025
- Climate
- See - Sada Elbalad
Extreme Weather, Climate Change Impacts Hit Africa Hard
Ahmed Emam Extreme weather and climate change impacts are hitting every single aspect of socio-economic development in Africa and exacerbating hunger, insecurity and displacement, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) State of the Climate in Africa 2024 report. The year 2024 was the warmest or second-warmest year, depending on the dataset, and the past decade has been the warmest on record. Sea-surface temperatures around the continent were at record levels, with particularly rapid warming in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Marine heatwaves impacted the biggest area since measurements started in 1993, it says. 'The State of the Climate in Africa report reflects the urgent and escalating realities of climate change across the continent,' said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. 'It also reveals a stark pattern of extreme weather events, with some countries grappling with exceptional flooding caused by excessive rainfall and others enduring persistent droughts and water scarcity.' 'WMO and its partners are committed to working with Members to build resilience and strengthen adaptation efforts in Africa through initiatives like Early Warnings for All,' said Celeste Saulo. 'It is my hope that this report will inspire collective action to address increasingly complex challenges and cascading impacts.' The report highlights the challenges for agriculture and the environment; food, water and energy security; and health and education. But it also stresses opportunities and new tools to meet the challenges. Artificial intelligence, mobile communication tools, and advanced weather prediction models are enhancing the accuracy and reach of weather services across Africa. However, further scaling up digital transformation requires greater investment in infrastructure, stronger data-sharing frameworks and more inclusive service delivery, it says. A greater sense of urgency is needed to improve early warning systems, and strengthen climate resilience and adaptation, according to the report, which urges governments, development partners, and the private sector to accelerate climate-smart investment. The WMO State of the Climate in Africa 2024 report is accompanied by a digital story map and is one of a series of WMO climate reports which seek to inform decision-making for national and regional climate strategies. read more Gold prices rise, 21 Karat at EGP 3685 NATO's Role in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict US Expresses 'Strong Opposition' to New Turkish Military Operation in Syria Shoukry Meets Director-General of FAO Lavrov: confrontation bet. nuclear powers must be avoided News Iran Summons French Ambassador over Foreign Minister Remarks News Aboul Gheit Condemns Israeli Escalation in West Bank News Greek PM: Athens Plays Key Role in Improving Energy Security in Region News One Person Injured in Explosion at Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid News Egypt confirms denial of airspace access to US B-52 bombers Lifestyle Pistachio and Raspberry Cheesecake Domes Recipe News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia News Australia Fines Telegram $600,000 Over Terrorism, Child Abuse Content Arts & Culture Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's $4.7M LA Home Burglarized Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Sports Neymar Announced for Brazil's Preliminary List for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War
Daily Maverick
12-05-2025
- Climate
- Daily Maverick
Warmest decade on record leaves trail of misery across Africa
These trends have consequences. The apocalypse is not in the future – it is unfolding now, and history has a long memory. For decades, there have been warnings that Africa, the world's poorest continent, was the most vulnerable to climate change caused mostly by the burning of fossil fuels up north. Those forecasts are now a grim reality, a point starkly underscored in the World Meteorological Organization's (WMO's) just released State of the Climate in Africa 2024 report. The past decade has been the warmest on record globally and Africa has been no exception, with a trail of misery from drought to deluge left in its wake. 'Extreme weather and climate change impacts are hitting every single aspect of socioeconomic development in Africa and exacerbating hunger, insecurity and displacement,' the WMO said. 'The year 2024 was the warmest or second-warmest year, depending on the dataset … Sea-surface temperatures around the continent were at record levels, with particularly rapid warming in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Marine heatwaves impacted the biggest area since measurements started in 1993.' The sea-surface temperature spike was from January to April and covered an area of nearly 30 million square kilometres. This state of affairs makes tropical storms more intense and devastating. 'For the first time in the satellite era, two tropical cyclones, Hidaya and Ialy, developed in May and moved over the far north-western part of the basin near Tanzania and Kenya over a region rarely frequented by mature tropical systems,' the WMO said. Surging sea-surface temperatures will also have consequences for marine life, coral reefs, commercial and subsistence fisheries and eco-tourism industries, which are vital to coastal African economies. This correspondent observed coral bleaching while scuba diving on reefs at Sodwana in northern KZN in March – the first time I had seen that blight in the more than 25 years I have been diving there. If you spend time outdoors, you can't help but notice this stuff. Subsistence African farmers who rely on rain-fed agriculture are certainly taking note, with last year's scorching El Niño event a case in point. 'The aggregate cereal yields in southern Africa were 16% below the five-year average – and in the case of Zambia and Zimbabwe, 43% and 50%, respectively,' the WMO said. Then there was the ripple effect on the wider regional economy from dam levels. Water literally evaporated under a blazing sky. 'Low water levels and low hydropower output from Lake Kariba, Africa's largest man-made reservoir, caused prolonged power outages and economic disruption,' the WMO said. Elsewhere on the continent, the problem was too much rain. Severe floods washed over Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi from March to May last year, killing hundreds of people and directly impacting 700,000. This was followed by below-average rain from October to December, raising concerns about food security. West Africa endured floods that affected more than four million people, with hundreds of thousands displaced by the drenching. The cycle is truly becoming increasingly vicious – floods followed by drought or vice versa – the signature events of extreme weather being inflicted on populations that are least equipped to deal with disasters that are biblical in scale. What this means for you These trends could exacerbate already existing water shortages in your hood and will push up the prices of many things grown in Africa that you take for granted – coffee, cocoa and vanilla, among other products. And depending on where you live, you will find your home at increasing risk of being hit by floods or scorched by wildfires. However, the WMO report is not just a litany of woe. 'Many countries in Africa are embracing digital transformation to improve weather forecasts and early warnings and this has been identified as a regional priority. Artificial intelligence brings new potential to strengthen service delivery,' it notes. The bottom line here is that Africa is getting whacked by climate change mostly linked to global greenhouse gas emissions despite only accounting for around 4% of such emissions – and the biggest emitters on the continent by a country mile are South African, namely Eskom and Sasol. These, it must be said, are well-known facts among those who keep track of such trends. But these trends have consequences. And at this rate, things will only get worse before they hopefully get better. The apocalypse is not in the future – it is unfolding in the present, and history has a long memory. DM
