Africa needs $50b yearly for climate adaptation — WMO

A recent report by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has raised concerns that African countries are losing an average of 2-5 per cent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to climate change annually.

The report added that countries are diverting 9 per cent of their budgets to responding to climate extremes.

The report estimated that in sub-Saharan Africa, the cost of climate adaptation would be between $30-50 billion annually over the next decade or 2-3 per cent of the region’s GDP.

The WMO “State of the Climate in Africa 2023” report released on Tuesday projected that by 2030, about 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.

The report stressed the need for African countries to prioritize increased investment in National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, accelerate the implementation of early warnings, and ensure that all initiatives are targeted at saving lives and livelihoods to help mitigate risks, build adaptive capacity, and boost resilience at local, national, and regional levels, guiding sustainable development strategies.

WMO Secretary-General, Celeste Saulo, said that over the past 60 years, Africa has observed a warming trend that has become more rapid than the global average, saying, “In 2023, the continent experienced deadly heatwaves, heavy rains, floods, tropical cyclones, and prolonged droughts.”

She added, “While many countries in the Horn of Africa, southern and North-West Africa continued to suffer exceptional multi-year drought, other countries experienced extreme precipitation events in 2023 leading to flooding with significant casualties. These extreme events led to devastating impacts on communities, with serious economic implications.

“This pattern of extreme weather has continued in 2024. Parts of southern Africa have been gripped by damaging drought. Exceptional seasonal rainfall has caused death and devastation in East African countries, most recently in Sudan and South Sudan. This exacerbates an already desperate humanitarian crisis.”

The Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment at the African Union Commission, Ambassador Josefa Correia Sacko, noted that the “State of Climate in Africa 2023” report highlights the urgent need for investing in meteorological services and early warning systems to help adapt to climate change and build resilience in Africa, as the impacts of climate change continue to manifest globally.

“Africa faces disproportionate burdens and risks arising from climate change-related weather events and patterns, which cause massive humanitarian crises with detrimental impacts on agriculture, food security, education, energy, infrastructure, peace and security, public health, water resources, and overall socio-economic development,” she said.