By Nneka Nwogwugwu
U.N. report has revealed that over 100 million extremely poor people in Africa are threatened by accelerating climate change that could also melt away the continent’s few glaciers within two decades.
In a report ahead of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow published on Tuesday, the U.N. highlighted Africa’s “disproportionate vulnerability” last year from food insecurity, poverty and population displacement.
“By 2030, it is estimated that up to 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,” said Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, commissioner for rural economy and agriculture at the African Union Commission.
The extremely poor are those who live on less than $1.90 per day, according to the report coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
“In sub-Saharan Africa, climate change could further lower gross domestic product by up to three percent by 2050,” Sacko said in the foreword to the report.
“Not only are physical conditions getting worse, but also the number of people being affected is increasing,” she said.
WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said that last year Africa saw temperatures continue to increase, “accelerating sea-level rise,” as well as extreme weather events like floods, landslides and droughts, all indicators of climate change.
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