Along with the report’s release, WMO’s Regional Strategic Office Director Filipe Lucio called for action on two fronts - adaptation “today” and mitigation “tomorrow.” A point made by a Senegalese economist whose work examines climate change impacts on migration in the Sahel, that we interviewed earlier this year in this PERSPECTIVES piece.
Various strategies are required to address an alarming warming trend in Africa, with northern and southern Africa set to get even drier and hotter, while the Sahel region becomes wetter.
The report offers policy recommendations in several different areas, reflecting the fact that climate change impacts a variety of sectors in complex ways. In particular, the report’s authors note the importance of addressing agricultural impacts, given the industry’s position as the “backbone of Africa’s economy.” Indeed, climate change is a serious threat to food security around the world, an issue inextricably linked to population displacement.
Increasing food insecurity and displacement in Africa is a sinister combination, as the report notes. Refugee populations often live in climate ‘hot spots’, where they are particularly vulnerable to both slow and sudden crises, such as desertification or flooding. This can even result in secondary displacement.
For instance, IOM and UNHCR data indicate, 60% of all internal displacements in the East and Horn of Africa in 2019 were due to climate-induced disasters. In particular, pastoralists are highly vulnerable to the combined effects of drought, resource competition and conflict.
