The report was released to coincide with Africa’s first climate summit in Kenya. The continent suffered 80 extreme weather and climate hazards last year.
People gather to collect water from a tap in the Mukuru slum in the Industrial Area, in Nairobi, Kenya September 4, 2023. Photo: REUTERS
The report cited emergency data showing that these disasters killed 5,000 people and caused more than $8.5 billion in economic losses. The actual figure could be higher due to gaps in reporting, the organization said.
“Africa emits only a fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions but is disproportionately affected by climate change,” says the State of the Climate in Africa 2022 report.
“Climate change and diminishing natural resources can fuel conflict over scarce productive land, water and pasture, where violence between farmers and herders has increased over the past 10 years due to increasing pressure on land…”, the report added.
Already, communal violence over resources has flared up frequently in the arid Sahel region. On average, each African emitted 1.04 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) in 2021, less than a quarter of the global average.
The report said the average rate of warming in Africa was 0.3 degrees Celsius per decade between 1991 and 2022, compared with 0.2 degrees worldwide .
Warming was fastest in North Africa, which has been hit by a series of heat waves since last year. That contributed to a drop in cereal production to 33 million tonnes, or about 10% below the average of the previous five years, the report said.
Overall, the report said agricultural productivity has declined due to climate change, recording a 34% decline since 1961, which could lead to a sharp increase in Africa's real food import demand.
Mai Anh (according to Reuters)
Source
Comment (0)