How Global Warming Threatens Human Security in Africa

Global warming is contributing to more and extended heat waves, a tripling of droughts, a quadrupling of storms, and a tenfold increase in flooding since the 1970s in Africa, exacerbating security threats on the continent.

More Frequent and Longer Lasting Heat Waves

The last decade was the warmest on record, part of a multidecade trend. Last year, the average temperature for Africa hovered around 1.2°C above the 1981-2010 average.

African countries within 15 degrees of the equator are projected to experience an increase in frequency of heat waves.

In Central Africa, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, and the coastal areas of northern Angola and DRC, already see on average 8-10 heat waves per year. In East Africa, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya—and the Atlantic coast of South Africa—are also experiencing an increasing frequency of heat waves.

A 0.5°C increase in temperatures can lead to a 150-percent increase in the number of heat waves that kill 100 people or more.

Source: Africa Center for Strategic Studies