WMO: Weather events battered Africa and disrupted its development in 2024
Addis Ababa, May 12 (EFE) - Extreme weather events and climate change severely impacted Africa in 2024, disrupting its socioeconomic development by exacerbating hunger, insecurity, and displacement, the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported Monday.
The WMO reached this conclusion in its "State of Africa's Climate 2024 Report," launched in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
According to the paper, last year was either the warmest or second-warmest on record—depending on the data set used—and the last decade has been the warmest ever recorded in Africa.
Sea surface temperatures across the continent also reached record levels, with warming particularly rapid in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
According to the report, the area affected by marine heatwaves was the largest since measurements began in 1993.
Exceptionally heavy rains and devastating floods hit parts of Africa in 2024, "causing numerous deaths, displacement, and damage to infrastructure," the WMO stressed.
In West and Central Africa, torrential rains affected millions of people, with Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and the Central African Republic being the hardest hit countries.
PhenomenaTwo phenomena, the 2023 El Niño and the 2023 Indian Ocean Dipole, both of which extended into early 2024, played a significant role in the extreme weather patterns observed on the continent in 2024.
Thus, the prolonged drought in southern Africa has led to "widespread crop failures, food insecurity, and significant humanitarian and environmental challenges," the UN agency noted.
Extremely low water levels in Lake Kariba, the world's largest man-made lake, caused severe power outages in Zambia and Zimbabwe, drastically reducing hydroelectric power generation, triggering prolonged blackouts and economic disruption.
The report highlights "the realities of climate change across the continent, its worsening nature, and the urgency with which action is needed," said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
"It also shows the clear distribution of extreme weather events, with some countries grappling with exceptional flooding due to excessive rainfall while others endure persistent episodes of drought and water shortages," Saulo added.
Despite these challenges, artificial intelligence, mobile communications tools, and advanced weather prediction models are enhancing the accuracy and reach of meteorological services in Africa, according to the WMO.
However, he clarified, for the digital transformation to continue advancing, "greater investment in infrastructure, more robust data-sharing frameworks, and more inclusive service delivery" are required.
The UN agency concluded that "we must be more aware of the urgency of the situation to improve early warning systems and enhance climate resilience and adaptation," and urged governments and the private sector to accelerate "climate-sound investments." EFE my-pa/crf
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