UN: Over 100m People in Africa Threatened by Climate Change
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A WMO report warns of 1.3 billion people being vulnerable as the continent gets warmer at a rate much faster than the global average.
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10 African countries are planting a Great Green Wall of trees, aiming to restore 100 million hectares of land by 2030, UN (WFP)
A UN report released on Tuesday warned that more than 100 million Africans are at risk from the dire consequences of climate change.
One of the possible dangers is the melting of the continent's few glaciers within two decades.
Last year, the UN underlined Africa's "disproportionate vulnerability" to food insecurity, poverty, and population displacement in a study released before the COP 26 climate meeting in Glasgow.
"By 2030, it is estimated that up to 118 million extremely poor people will be exposed to drought, floods, and extreme heat in Africa if adequate response measures are not put in place," said Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, Commissioner for rural economy and agriculture at the African Union Commission.
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the extremely poor are individuals who survive on less than $1.90 per day.
"In sub-Saharan Africa, climate change could further lower gross domestic product by up to 3% by 2050," Sacko said.
"Not only are physical conditions getting worse, but also the number of people being affected is increasing," she said in the foreword.
WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said that last year, Africa witnessed an increase in temperature, "accelerating sea-level rise" and extreme weather events like floods, landslides, and droughts, which are all indicators of climate change.
