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The continent could warm by an average of 2 to 6 degrees Celsius by the end of this century.
Africa faces a future of heat waves, droughts and floods and could lose many of its endemic species as a result of climate change, a Greenpeace study showed.
The continent could warm by an average of 2 to 6 degrees Celsius by the end of this century, largely as a result of a warning caused by man-made greenhouse gas emissions, Greenpeace Research Laboratories said in a report published today. Monday.
That will result in more frequent heat waves across the continent, less rain in southern and northern Africa, and more rainfall in central and eastern Africa. With more than half of the world’s poor living on the continent, it is expected to be among the regions most affected by climate change, as people have few resources to adapt and cope.
“Science shows that there is very little natural in the disasters that hit our continent,” Greenpeace Africa program director Melitta Steele said in a statement.
Depending on how hot it is, residents of Lagos, Abidjan, Luanda and Kinshasa, four of the continent’s largest cities, could begin to experience heat stress as a result of periods of high temperatures, according to the study. Currently, only Khartoum in Sudan is in danger from this phenomenon, which causes people’s core temperature to rise due to external factors.
Some projections show that the unique Cape Floral region of South Africa, which accounts for a fifth of the continent’s plant biodiversity, could lose more than a third of its 5,682 plant species, according to the report. Ethiopia’s Bale Mountains could also see many of their plant species disappear.
Still, other studies project less severe temperature increases. The World Meteorological Organization predicted a 2-degree Celsius rise in temperature by 2100 from pre-industrial times in its first Africa climate report released last month.
“It is very clear that global warming acts as a threat multiplier, exacerbating existing vulnerabilities such as poverty and inequality by generating extreme weather events,” Greenpeace said in the report. “The African continent is very vulnerable to the impacts of global warming.”
