Climate Change: the Arctic and Africa

Africa:

• 2/3 countries in Africa are in the world's 50th poorest countries
• Many countries are badly in debt
• They contribute the least to global warming, however they could be affected the most.
• 0.5C hotter than in 1900
• More droughts
• Less rainy seasons

Economic impacts:

• Changing patterns of rainfall will shorten the growing season.
• Coastalisation. To escape the drought, migrants flee to coastal cities and strain their economies, water supplies etc. E.g. Cotonou
• Could be 50% less crops by 2020, making malnutrition more common
• Locust plagues will also threaten crops.

Social impacts:

• Many rivers are internationally shared. E.g. Nile.
• This could lead to water conflicts.
• Increase in malnutrition
• Malaria and diarrhoea increase, (witch…