Climate change will exacerbate extreme poverty in Africa, affecting 118 million people in 2030, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

Madrid, 19 (European Press)

Recent melting glaciers in East Africa could undermine efforts to reduce extreme poverty as 118 million people could be found on the continent in 2030, according to a report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warning that the number of people living on less From $1.90 a day they will be exposed to drought, flooding and extreme heat if immediate response measures are not taken.

While presenting a ‘Report on the State of the Climate in Africa in 2020,’ the organization’s Secretary, Petteri Taalas, warned that the “rapid” decline in the last glaciers in East Africa, which is expected to completely melt in the near future, threatens an imminent change. and irreversible in the system” and may lead to increased food insecurity, poverty and displacement in Africa.

This melting of African glaciers, according to a World Meteorological Organization warning, will “place an additional burden” on poverty alleviation initiatives and “significantly impede” the growth of prosperity,” says Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture Union, Josefa Leonel Correa Sako. .

The multidisciplinary study warns that changes in precipitation composition, increased temperatures, and increased extreme weather conditions have contributed to increased food insecurity, poverty and displacement in Africa in 2020, exacerbating the social, economic and health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study currently indicates that only three mountains in Africa are covered by glaciers. This is the massif of Mount Kenya (Kenya), the Rwenzori Mountains (Uganda) and Mount Kilimanjaro (United Republic of Tanzania).

Although these glaciers are too small to play a significant role as reservoirs of water, they are of great tourist and scientific importance, but their current rates of retreat are higher than the global average, and if this continues, there will be a total decade-long decline. In 2040, 10 years ago in Mount Kenya, which will become one of the first complete mountain ranges to lose glaciers as a result of climate change due to human activity.

The document outlines the trends and impacts of climate change on the continent, such as rising sea levels and the melting of the continent’s famous glaciers, highlights the disproportionate vulnerability of Africa and shows how the potential benefits of investments in climate adaptation, weather and climate services. Early warning systems far outweigh the costs.

On the other hand, it shows the potential benefits of investments in climate adaptation, weather and climate services and early warning systems that far outweigh the costs.

For Talas, besides recovery after COVID-19, improving resilience to climate change is an “urgent and ongoing” need and urges investments, particularly necessary in capacity development and technology transfer, as well as in improving countries’ early warning systems, including That’s weather, water and climate monitoring systems.”

The report is the result of the collaboration of the World Meteorological Organization, the African Union Commission and the Economic Commission for Africa through the African Center for Climate Policy, international and regional scientific organizations and United Nations agencies.

The State of Climate in Africa 2020 is presented in the context of the Extraordinary Meeting of the World Meteorological Conference and before the United Nations Climate Change Negotiations at the 26* Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) starting on 1 November.

This new study calls for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, raising climate ambition and increasing funding for adaptation.

Lionel Correa denounced that Africa is experiencing an increase in meteorological and climatic variability, causing disasters and disruptions to economic, ecological and social systems. In fact, it is estimated that climate change in sub-Saharan Africa could cause GDP to fall by as much as 3 percent by 2050.

“Not only are the material conditions worsening, but the number of people affected is also increasing,” he laments.

The new report concludes that Africa has warmed at a higher rate than the global average temperature across the entire Earth’s surface and oceans and that 2020 was between the third and eighth hottest years since records exist on the continent, depending on the dataset used.

Specifically, rates of sea level rise are above the global average on the tropical coast, South Atlantic and Indian Ocean coasts: by 3.6 mm/year and 4.1 mm/year, respectively, compared to sea level on Mediterranean coasts. , increasing to 2.9 mm/year, a value lower than the world average.

With regard to rainfall, he indicated that it is higher than normal with floods occurring in the Sahel, the Rift Valley, the Nile Basin and Northeast Africa, as well as in the Kalahari Basin and in the lower reaches of the Congo River. In the face of this, drought prevailed on the northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea, in northwestern Africa and along the southeastern part of the continent. For its part, the drought in Madagascar has caused a humanitarian crisis.

Finally, a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report estimates that adaptation costs in sub-Saharan Africa range from $30-50 billion annually over the next decade to avoid higher costs in the event of a disaster.