As a heat wave with temperatures nearing 50 C stretches from Senegal to Chad, hundreds have died, and climate scientists say temperatures this high would not have been possible without human-induced climate change from greenhouse gas emissions.

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Climate Crisis

Title: Deadly West African Heat Wave Driven by Climate Change

A severe heat wave affecting West Africa from Senegal to Chad, with temperatures approaching 50 C, has resulted in the deaths of hundreds. Climate scientists have linked these unparalleled temperatures directly to human-induced climate change caused by the emission of greenhouse gases. The region, already accustomed to high temperatures, experienced a crisis exacerbated by the Ramadan fasting period, leaving individuals more vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat.

The extreme weather event, which saw temperatures nearly reaching 50 degrees Celsius in early April, was significantly impacted by climate change. Experts assert that without the influence of human-induced global warming, such temperatures would have been improbable. This particular heat wave, spanning countries including Senegal, Mali, Niger, and Chad, is an occurrence expected only once every 200 years at current levels of global warming. However, with the planet on track towards a two-degree Celsius increase above pre-industrial levels, similar events are forecasted to become much more frequent, happening once every 20 years.

Further exacerbating the situation, sea surface temperatures have reached unprecedented highs across all oceans, contributing to the movement of excessive heat northward from the Gulf of Guinea into West Africa. In Mali alone, reports from a single hospital indicate that over 100 people succumbed to the heat in just a few days earlier in the month. This highlights the disproportionate impact of climate change on regions which contribute minimally to global carbon emissions. The populations most affected by these climate extremes are those least responsible for the emissions driving global warming.

Forecasts predict that the lethal heat may persist in the region well into June, threatening not only health but also agriculture as farmers prepare for the typically rainy season. With the looming possibility of recurrent extreme heat events, experts are advising precautions against heat stroke and dehydration, emphasizing the importance of preparedness in mitigating the impacts of climate change.



Deadly West African heat wave driven by climate change

From above and below, a hospital in Niger tries to rehydrate this elderly woman. Her daughter says extreme heat drained the water from her mother's body. A crisis throughout April in the Sahel region of Africa that was made worse when people were fasting for Ramadan. More people were therefore more exposed to the extreme heat and would not have enough capacity to cool themselves down. Those nearly 50-degree days in early April especially, now being blamed on climate change. Without human-induced global warming, these temperatures wouldn't have been possible. That week-long heat wave stretched from Senegal to Mali, Niger and Chad, a region that knows heat. But even at our current level of global warming, scientists say such an extreme would only be seen once every 200 years. And if the planet continues to barrel towards two degrees of warming above pre-industrial temperatures, it's expected to be more like once every 20 years. Also contributing, sea surface temperatures surging to new highs across all oceans. All that heat is moving really northward from the Gulf of Guinea into West Africa and creating you know this heat that we are seeing. In Mali, that heat has killed, with a hospital reporting more than 100 people dying over a few days earlier this month. Say experts, a disproportionate climate burden for a region that pumps far less carbon into the atmosphere. The parts of Africa which are impacted at the moment are contributing close to nothing to the actual emissions, meaning that they are basically experiencing the consequences of the deeds of other people elsewhere. Forecasts suggest the region could see this deadly heat well into June. And experts warn as farmers ready their crops for the typically rainy season, they need to take precautions to avoid heat stroke and dehydration. Anand Ram, CBC News, Toronto.

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Climate Crisis