Nigeria is among the 10 countries in the world to have environmental disasters like increased flooding, drought and extreme hot weather, international humanitarian organisations say.
The IRC and World Resource International created the list by examining the threats that climate change poses to a country and the country’s ability to protect its citizens from it.
The International Rescue Committee and World Resource Institute (WRI) agree many countries are already experiencing the catastrophic outcomes of climate change.
Nigeria, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and Yemen were among the countries listed.
This is because “political tensions and widespread conflict have contributed to the country’s fragility, making it difficult to respond to climate disasters,” the organisations that drew up the list say.
The most vulnerable people will suffer the most from the country’s inability to respond effectively to meet the challenges of climate change, says the International Rescue Committee, one of the list’s authors.
The 10 countries were selected for the new list because they have poor “climate readiness”, the ability to protect citizens from the effects of catastrophic weather.
“The catastrophic consequences of climate change are already here as more frequent and intense natural disasters and extreme weather destroy livelihoods, intensify violent conflict, and force people to flee their homes,” IRC said in a statement.
The Nigerian government has issued severe warnings there will be more flooding this coming rainy season. Communities are still struggling to recover after torrential rain flooded towns and farmlands in 2022. The flooding left over 600 dead.
“The world’s most vulnerable populations are already on the frontline of the climate crisis,” said David Miliband, head of the International Rescue Committee.
Other countries listed are Syria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Chad, South Sudan and Ethiopia.