African countries losing up to five percent of their GDP annually due to climate change

(Patria) - African countries are losing about five percent of their GDP each year as they bear a greater burden of climate change than the rest of the world.

This was stated in a new report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), published yesterday, following one of the hottest years on the continent.

The report notes that many African countries spend up to nine percent of their budgets on adapting to climate change.

- Over the past 60 years, Africa has observed a warming trend that has become faster than the global average - says WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo, warning that this affects everything from food security, through public health, to peace.

Africa is responsible for less than 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. But at the same time, it is the most vulnerable region to extreme weather events, including droughts, floods and heatwaves, the WMO said.

The new report focuses on 2023, one of the three hottest years in Africa's entire history. It calls on African governments to invest in early warning systems, as well as meteorological services.

If adequate measures are not taken, by 2030 up to 118 million Africans will be exposed to droughts, floods and extreme heat, the report warns.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the costs of adapting to extreme weather could be 30-50 billion dollars annually over the next decade, the report estimates.

The consequences of climate change in Africa are already severe. Between September and October 2023, around 300,000 people across West Africa were affected by floods.

Zambia experienced its worst drought in 40 years, affecting nearly six million people, and extreme weather events in Africa have continued this year, experts say.

In the Sahel region, south of the Sahara, floods have affected more than 716,000 people this year, according to United Nations data. In Mali, authorities declared a national disaster last week due to floods that have affected 47,000 people since the start of the rainy season.

West Africa experienced an unprecedented heatwave earlier this year that led to a high number of deaths.