DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — African countries are losing up to 5% of their GDP each year as they suffer more from climate change than the rest of the world, a new report showed Monday after one of the continent’s warmest years on record.
According to the World Meteorological Organization, many African countries spend up to 9% of their budgets on climate adaptation policies.
“Over the past 60 years, Africa has seen a warming trend that has been faster than the global average,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo, who warned that this is affecting everything from food security to public health and peace.
Africa is responsible for less than 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. But it is the region most vulnerable to extreme weather events, including droughts, floods and heat waves, according to the WMO.
The new report focuses on 2023, one of the three hottest years on record in Africa. It urged African governments to invest in early warning systems and meteorological services. If adequate measures are not taken, up to 118 million Africans will be exposed to droughts, floods and extreme heat by 2030, the report warned.
In sub-Saharan Africa, the costs of adapting to extreme weather could rise to $30-50 billion per year over the next decade, the report estimates.
The effects of climate change are dire. About 300,000 people in West Africa were affected by floods between September and October 2023, the report said. Zambia experienced its worst drought in 40 years, affecting almost 6 million people.
According to experts, the pattern of extreme weather events in Africa will continue in 2024.
In the sub-Saharan Sahel region, floods have affected more than 716,000 people this year, the United Nations said. In Mali, authorities last week declared a national disaster because of flooding that has affected 47,000 people since the start of the rainy season.
West Africa has a unprecedented heat wave earlier this year this led to an increase in the number of deaths.
