Climate Change Doubles Global Heat Waves, Hits Africa Hard

A recent global study of heatwaves between May 2024 and May 2025 indicates that almost half of the global population—almost 4 billion people—experienced an additional 30 days of extremely hot conditions beyond the long-term average of 1991-2020. The research, which involved World Weather Attribution, Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, and Climate Central, indicated that climate change effectively doubled the number of global heatwaves. There had been 67 record-breaking heat events whose occurrence was being affected by climate change, and 14 were in Africa.

Heat is becoming more intense and frequent, and some linkages exist with climate change. Heat waves used to occur earlier, but human-induced global warming is now intensifying them a lot and making them deadlier. Extreme heat days refer to those days that are over 90% warmer than the 1991-2020 average. Using climate models and attribution science, the scientists estimated the proportion to which climate change increased the number of such days in the previous year.

Africa was among the most affected continents by the rise of extreme heat, and ten countries—Burundi, Comoros, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Mayotte, Rwanda, and São Tomé and Príncipe—experienced more than 90 days of temperatures above the long-term 90th percentile. A minimum of three months, and in some instances more than four, of extreme heat.

Collectively, 42 of the globe's 54 countries were affected by one or more of the 14 significant heat events. They are severe heat waves with a significant health, agricultural, and infrastructure effect. The most common among them occurred on 14 to 30 December 2024, when it hit west and central Africa. Climate models show that this heat wave was at least 15 times more likely due to human-induced global warming.

In South Sudan in February 2025, schools were shut down for two weeks following incidents of heatstroke among children compelling schools to be shut. People were asked to remain indoors, excluding the use of water. Physical limitations such as iron sheet houses, absence of air conditions, ineffective power supply, and poor-quality clean water supplies compounded the crisis. The crisis highlighted the vulnerability of poor-infrastructure communities to withstand heat days.

There were four significant heat waves in Southern Africa in 2024, two of them were five-day long extended heat waves. They were as much as nine times more likely to occur with warming. There were some extreme heat events in Northern Africa also at the same time.

The. Climate Shift Index system was used by the researchers in trying to calculate the disparity between heat days that are experienced and those that would be experienced under conditions of a lack of anthropogenic climate change. By comparing model data with current observations, scientists could estimate the influence of climate change on current weather extremes and extrapolate future trends based on continued high emission rates.

The conclusion emphasizes the disproportionate effect on African nations in comparison with their relatively minor contribution to total emissions. The majority of the worst-affected places cannot handle increasing temperatures as they do not have the money and infrastructure. Some of the effects of the extreme temperature range from destruction of crops, shortage of water, collapse of houses, to fatalities. Even while everyday life depends upon external labor in certain areas and where the houses are not built to resist the heat, economic and health consequences are the most terrible.

Unless there is an instant curtailment of emissions and investment in climate resilience, it is Africa that will be worst affected, according to experts. Adaptations like additional infrastructure, heat alerts, access to clean water, and public health responses will assist, but will amount to nothing if the source of global warming is not eliminated. An injection of finances is needed right away to allow African countries to develop sustainable, heat-resistant systems.

This research is responding to the demand for an urgent measure regarding the greenhouse gas constraint and support in terms of cash and brains to vulnerable areas. The increasing number of deadly heat waves experienced in Africa is evidence of a basic need for international collaboration in combating the climate crisis. Medium- and long-term measures must address the phasing out of the fossil fuel, the largest offender for rising global temperatures.

Source: The Conversation
Author: Joyce Kimutai | Owen Ferguson (Edited by) | Andrew Zinin (Reviewed by)
Credit: The Conversation | Unsplash (Image by) (CC0 Public Domain)