Africa endures more severe warming than elsewhere, posing risk of conflict

Africa is heating up at a faster rate than the rest of the planet and enduring more severe climate and weather disasters such as droughts, a joint U.N.-African Union report said

Africa is heating up at a faster rate than the rest of the planet and enduring more severe climate and weather disasters such as droughts, a joint U.N.-African Union report said on Monday, warning that climate change could stoke conflict over resources.

The continent was hit by 80 extreme weather and climate hazards last year, said the report sent by the World Meteorological Organization to coincide with Africa's first climate summit in Kenya where financing is set to be in focus.

These disasters, such as the Horn of Africa's worst drought in 40 years and Algerian wildfires, resulted in 5,000 deaths and over $8.5 billion in economic damage, the report showed, citing an emergencies database. The real figures are likely to be higher due to reporting gaps, it said.

"Africa is responsible for only a fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions but is suffering disproportionately from climate change," the State of the Climate in Africa 2022 report said.

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"Climate change and the diminishing natural resource base could fuel conflicts for scarce productive land, water, and pastures, where farmer-herder violence has increased over the past 10 years due to growing land pressure...," it added.

Already, communal violence over resources flares up frequently in parts of the semi-arid Sahel. On average, each African produced 1.04 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in 2021, less than a quarter of the global average.