Having signed and ratified the Paris Agreement, nearly all African countries have committed to enhancing climatic action through reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and building resilience. For the continent, adaptation to the adverse impacts of climate change is urgent.
Africa will need investments of over $3 trillion in mitigation and adaptation by 2030 in order to implement its NDCs.
However, many of their commitments are conditional upon receiving adequate financial, technical and capacity building support.
Nevertheless, climate change also provides opportunities for Africa to harness its huge resource potential to achieve the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals. Addressing climate change in Africa will create significant market opportunities on the continent, especially for the private sector.
Climate Change (CC) in Nigeria reflects the variations in the average daily weather conditions such as temperature, humidity, rainfall and sunshine of a location over an extended period. Climate change in Nigeria threatens economic growth in sectors dependent on climatic conditions.
Economic sectors such as agriculture, fishery and forestry are more predisposed to the adverse effects of climate change. The Nigerian climate has been irregular over the years, alternating between periods of extreme dry or rainy seasons.
Climate change in Nigeria has led to seasons of drought and excess flood, which affected agricultural activities and caused a loss of shelter. In 2019, the National Emergency Management Agency revealed floods had displaced approximately 1.9 million Nigerians.
Nigeria has a tropical climate with 2 distinct seasons: wet and dry seasons.
These seasons have varying lengths of rainy and dry seasons depending on the geographical location. For example, the southern part of Nigeria has a longer period of rainy season (March to November) than the Northern part (May to September).
Dry season is prevalent in the north coupled with high temperatures that may reach an average monthly value of 38 degrees celsius, while the mean temperature in southern Nigeria hovers around 32-33 degrees celsius. In the north, the harmattan wind, which is a dry and hot wind, blows longer than it does in southern Nigeria.
