Around 118 million Africans will be exposed to droughts, floods and extreme heat on the continent by 2030 if adequate measures are not taken, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

"The temperature increase on the African continent is slightly higher than the world average and climate change is an increasingly heavy burden in Africa," warned the WMO in the State of Africa's Climate 2023 report, released today in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the cost of climate adaptation is estimated to be between 30 and 50 billion dollars a year over the next decade, or 2% to 3% of the region's GDP, according to the WMO report, quoted by Notícias ao Minuto.

"While many countries in the Horn of Africa, Southern Africa and Northwest Africa continued to suffer exceptional multi-year droughts, other countries recorded extreme rainfall events in 2023, leading to floods with significant casualties," said Saulo.

 For the WMO representative, these extreme phenomena have had a devastating impact on communities, with serious economic implications, and this pattern of extreme weather conditions will continue in 2024, she said.