Africa’s Climate Crisis Worsens, Warns WMO’s State of the Climate in Africa 2024 report
Extreme weather and climate change are affecting all parts of life in Africa, worsening hunger, insecurity, and displacement, according to the latest World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Africa 2024 report.
Africa has witnessed its warmest decade on record, says WMO.
Africa experienced one of its hottest years ever in 2024, with average temperatures about 0.86°C above the 1991–2020 average, marking it the warmest or second warmest year on record since 1900. The last decade was the hottest on record, according to the WMO’s latest report.
The report notes that climate change and extreme weather events are severely impacting the socio-economic development dimension all across the Africa. Droughts and floods are intensified by human-driven climate change and continue to destroy lives and livelihoods of people in the continent.
WMO recorded the highest sea surface temperature in 2024 leading to widespread marine heatwaves. The year is ranked as one of the warmest ever in Africa on record as sea-surface temperatures hit record highs, especially in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.
According to WMO, extreme weather events intensified across the continent as the West and Central Africa saw deadly floods and torrential rains, severely affecting Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and the Central African Republic.
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On the other hand, Southern Africa faced prolonged drought, leading to crop failures, hunger, and energy shortages. Critically low water in Lake Kariba, the world’s largest man-made lake, disrupted hydroelectric power in Zambia and Zimbabwe, triggering widespread blackouts.
WMO also notes that these weather patterns were significantly influenced by the El Niño’s natural phenomenon and the positive Indian Ocean Dipole phase that carried over from 2023 into early 2024.
Globally, 2024 was the hottest year on record, with temperatures 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels. Carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide concentrations reached record highs, pushing global warming further.
The rate of ocean warming has more than doubled in the last 20 years relative to the observed warming over the period of 1960-2005, causing sea levels to rise by 4.7 mm per year and accelerating ocean acidification, states the WMO’s report.
“The State of the Climate in Africa report reflects the urgent and escalating realities of climate change across the continent. It also reveals a stark pattern of extreme weather events, with some countries grappling with unprecedented flooding caused by excessive rainfall and others enduring persistent droughts and water scarcity,”
said WMO Secretary-General Prof. Celeste Saulo.
