Changing climate already changing Africa: Are we really prepared?

Source(s): Africa Times

By Dr. Richard Munang

The misfortune that comes with landslides and flooding has hit Sierra Leone, one of the jewels of Africa. May this moment of pain forever be etched in our memories as Africans as a lesson and moment of wisdom.

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In early 2017, new data from the U.K Met Office, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shows earth’s temperature has increased to about 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels. This is dangerously close, just 0.4°C away from the 1.5°C threshold set by the Paris Climate Change Agreement to prevent worsening climate change effects. In this trend, the vulnerability of Africa’s coastal cities is unprecedented. Sea level rise is projected to hit coastal cities – 14 percent higher than the global average by 2100 for the fast approaching over 4°C warming scenario. The impacts will stretch far and wide beyond Freetown to expose millions to risk of flooding. By around 2050, high numbers are projected in coastal cities of Mozambique (5 million), Tanzania (2 million), Cameroon (2 million), Egypt (1 million), Senegal (0.5 million), and Morocco (0.5 million). Such flooding will reverse economic and development gains with the ensuing health impacts and damage to infrastructure, loss of tourist sites and disruption in food supply, and exposure of populations to elevated food prices with loss of livelihoods and strife.

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