Scorched Sands: Mauritania Sizzles as North Africa’s Hottest Hotspot
Africa’s Climate Situation in 2023: Rising Temperatures and Severe Droughts
The World Meteorological Organization reported a significant increase in temperature in north-west Africa, particularly on the coasts of Mauritania and Morocco, and in north-west Algeria during 2023.
A report on “The Climate Situation in Africa 2023″ highlighted that North Africa experienced extreme heat waves, with record-breaking temperatures of 49 degrees in Tunis and 50.4 degrees in Agadir, Morocco.
Several regions in Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo faced severe drought in 2023, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
In terms of precipitation, West and North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and several regions in southern Africa, including Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and most of Namibia, experienced a significant deficit.
South Africa experienced the slowest warming, with a temperature increase of 0.2 degrees per decade between 1991 and 2023, as reported in the same report presented at the 12th symposium on climate change and development in Africa, held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from August 30 to September 2, 2024.