Historically High Temperatures in East Africa
Good morning. Welcome back to Surviving in the World (SIW), your newsletter written by CI students for anyone interested in global affairs. We always try to present select topics in global news in an easy-to-understand format.
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Brought to you by: Keonhee Ahn (’25).
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Word Count: 547 / Time: 5 minute read.
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​The TemperatureRadar shows an extensive heat wave spreading across central and eastern Africa. Track global temperatures (Source: weather radar)
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What happened?
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A red alert has been raised by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) concerning the climate crisis due to several factors, with starvation as a result of climbing temperatures being possibly the most concerning.
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The number of fatalities from starvation due to the climate crisis has more than doubled over the past four years.
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The lives of people and their livestock have been threatened by a combination of continuous droughts and the scorching heat.
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According to government officials, temperatures are expected to reach 41 to 41 degrees Celsius (106 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit) in the coming weeks.
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South Sudan, closing schools for two weeks due to the heat. However, the most concerning consequence of this type of extreme heat is food insecurity as well as famine.​
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Food Shortage and Conflict
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As previously stated, the WMO reported a surge in food insecurity in the last four years. The number of people who are classified as having acute food insecurity amounts to 333 million.
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The United Nations has issued a statement imploring that an airlift of food to the countries of Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Burundi has become an urgent issue regarding the survival of 11 million Africans.
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The worst of this extreme heat has been felt by Somalians who are forced to wash and drink with only three cups of water a day. To illustrate the severity of this situation, three cups of water is only 1/20th of a human’s daily water requirement.
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In addition to water shortages, a considerable number of livestock raised in households have died or are dying.
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This leads to further food shortages where conflicts between tribes armed with spears and guns become commonplace.
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Why should you care?
As per an annual report published by the WMO, “These changes brought about by the climate crisis, such as water shortages, are threatening food production by significantly reducing the productivity of livestock and crops. Furthermore, the people who face these difficulties become economically vulnerable, being unable to sell crops and livestock which would have provided them with income.
While many of us living in first-world countries may not fully understand the repercussions of the climate crisis, news of widespread famine and economic vulnerability should move governments and people to come up with a solution to the climate crisis for the betterment of humankind.
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