Climate change is aggravating existing conflicts in fragile nations, especially on the African continent, increasing the number of deaths in these countries.

The warning is contained in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) report released today and consulted by the Lusa news agency.

"Climate shocks significantly worsen conflict, increasing fragility, although climate shocks do not trigger a new conflict, as these derive from a complex range of factors, climate shocks increase the intensity of conflict where it already exists," says the IMF report quoted by the agency.

"Estimates indicate that in a high-emissions scenario, all other things being equal, by 2060 conflict deaths as a percentage of the population in a fragile country in conflict will increase by 8.5%, and up to 14% in countries facing extreme temperature rise," the report on the impact of climate change on the most fragile countries adds.

These 39 countries are home to almost a billion people and 43% of the poor countries are classified as fragile by the World Bank, more than half of which are in Africa.

The document estimates that more than 50 million people could fall into hunger by 2060 due to reduced food production combined with higher prices.

Economic losses resulting from climate shocks are more "severe and persistent" in fragile nations than in other countries, the document states.

According to the economists who authored the report, every year "more than three times as many people are affected by natural disasters in fragile states than in other countries, and disasters displace more than twice as many people as in other countries".

The IMF's messages come on the eve of the African Climate Summit, taking place from September 4 to 6 in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, with the aim of debating the urgent climate challenges facing the continent of 1.4 billion people, and also a few months before the United Nations climate conference (COP38), taking place in the United Arab Emirates in November and December.. (Lusa)