For the past four years, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has published its annual climate report on Africa. Global warming is not a new phenomenon, but in 2024, the tone is more serious than ever in this very alarming report: the African continent is sinking, both climatically and economically, and the repercussions of the ongoing catastrophe will extend far beyond its borders.

in summary

    The year 2023 was marked by temperatures still well above normal in Africa: +0.61°C than the average of the last 30 years and +1.28°C than the average of 1961-1990. In Mali, Morocco, Uganda and Tanzania, the year 2023 was the warmest on record. The African continent is warming by +0.3°C each decade, faster than the global average. Waves of heatsheats qualified ” of extremes ” by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) are increasing every summer, particularly in North Africa, such as Tunisia and Morocco. These two countries have also broken a new record for their maximum temperature: 49 °C in Tunis, Tunisia and 50.4 °C in Agadir, Morocco.

    Sea levels are also rising faster in Africa than the global average: +3.4 millimetres per year and up to 4.1 millimetres per year along the Red Sea.

    Thousands dead, millions of migrants and billions of dollars needed

    The consequences of all these climatic upheavals are human, but also economic. In 2023, rainfall was extreme: floods caused at least 700 deaths in Libya (linked to Cyclone Daniel) and the droughtdrought has wreaked havoc on crops in North Africa, among other countries. In Tunisia, cereal production has fallen by 80% due to persistent drought. In Niger, Benin and Ghana, theagricultureagriculture partly collapsed due to lack of water.

    Weather disasters also cause huge population displacements, exacerbating conflicts in already unstable areas: the historic floods that hit Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya left at least 350 dead (a figure probably largely underestimated due to the lack of information on the ground) and caused the migration of 2.4 million people in just 3 months (April, May, June 2023).

    The WMO estimates that African countries lose an average of 2 to 5% of their GDP (gross domestic productgross domestic product) because of climate disasters, and some use 9% of their budget for them. Africa has no choice but to adapt to these weather extremes, but this will come at an immense cost: $30 to $50 billion per year is needed, or 2 to 3% of GDP. If very strong measures are not put in place now, the situation will become unbearable for 118 million people by 2030 due to extreme heat, drought and flooding.

    What are the solutions? According to the WMO, the priority is the development of services weather reportweather report and hydrological (non-existent in some countries) and early warnings to better anticipate disasters, while continuing to implement more sustainable development practices.