Africa Bears the Brunt of Climate Change’s Harshest Blows

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In late May 2025, torrential rains swept through Mokwa town in Niger State, Nigeria. Within hours, waterways rose and tore through the banks, submerging homes and farmland. Entire neighbourhoods disappeared under muddy water. Reports said more than 150 people died and thousands were displaced. A media account I was reading described a teacher, Mallam Hassan Umar, standing waist deep in the mud, barefoot, searching through the ruins of his school and calling out the names of children he feared were gone.

That night in Mokwa sums up what has become Africa’s new reality. Climate change is no longer a forecast. It is here, reshaping lives and landscapes across the continent.

From West to Central Africa, floods have taken on a frightening intensity. In Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, what began as seasonal rain turned into weeks of destruction. Bridges collapsed, hospitals were flooded, and water supplies were contaminated. The United Nations said that by mid-2025, more than 120,000 people had been directly affected, though local reports suggest the real toll is far higher when you count the aftermath of disease and hunger.

The Worsening Pattern
Further south, the same story plays out in different forms. Cyclone Chido battered Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe early this year, flattening homes and sparking cholera outbreaks. Heavy rains in Botswana and eastern South Africa caused flash floods that left dozens dead and damaged critical infrastructure. In KwaZulu-Natal, mudslides swallowed parts of hillside settlements, exposing how unplanned city growth worsens these risks.

While floods drown parts of the continent, droughts tighten their grip elsewhere. In the Horn of Africa, covering Ethiopia, Somalia and parts of Kenya, dry spells have ruined crops and killed livestock. Millions are edging toward hunger. The World Meteorological Organisation noted that Africa just went through its hottest decade on record, with ocean temperatures peaking last year and setting the stage for even harsher conditions in 2025.

In Mali, where desert covers most of the land, heatwaves have scorched the ground, making farming impossible in large stretches. Burundi and Ghana recorded more than ninety days of extreme heat this year, leaving water sources strained and rural communities under pressure.

It all connects. Climate change increases rainfall in some areas and steals it from others. West Africa’s downpours are becoming heavier and less predictable. At the same time, southern Africa is seeing longer droughts, sparking competition over water and grazing land. The United Nations projects that by 2030, as many as 118 million of Africa’s poorest people could face severe droughts, floods or heatwaves if nothing changes. What we are witnessing this year suggests that the future is already here.

Broken Promises and Slow Progress
The 2015 Paris Agreement was meant to mark a global turning point. Nearly every country signed up to keep global temperature rise below two degrees Celsius, with richer nations committing to provide at least $100 billion a year to help developing ones adapt. For Africa, it could have been transformative: funds for renewable energy, early warning systems, and climate-resilient agriculture.

But the follow-through has been weak. Many pledges remain unfulfilled, and global emissions keep climbing. The agreement created structure, but without real enforcement, its impact has been limited.

At last year’s COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, world leaders promised a renewed push. They agreed on a new collective target of $300 billion annually by 2035 to support vulnerable nations. The Baku Adaptation Road Map was introduced to strengthen resilience, alongside efforts to operationalise the Loss and Damage Fund first set up in Sharm El-Sheikh.

For African negotiators, it was a chance to push for major investments in infrastructure, clean energy and community-based adaptation. Yet the numbers still fall short. The $300 billion goal is a step forward, but it relies heavily on loans and private financing. Many African states are already carrying heavy debt, so the burden risks deepening rather than easing.

Adaptation remains underfunded compared to emissions reduction. The world talks about cutting carbon, but for countries already feeling the impact, the urgent need is to withstand what is here now: flood defences, drought-resistant crops, and stronger public health systems.

Attention now turns to COP30 in Belém, Brazil, this November. The agenda includes forests, adaptation, fair transition and finance. African governments will be seeking stronger commitments on loss and damage, and more control over how funds are delivered and used. Yet there is a quiet sense of déjà vu. The pledges from past summits have not kept pace with reality. Without binding timelines and accountability, there is a risk that COP30 will repeat the same pattern of powerful speeches but little follow-through.

An Unequal Burden
Africa contributes roughly 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions yet carries the heaviest impact. That imbalance is glaring. It is not just about geography; it is about inequality built into the global system. Many African economies depend on rain-fed agriculture, weak infrastructure and limited safety nets. When floods wash away fields or drought kills cattle, recovery is slow and often depends on emergency aid that comes too late or too little.

Women and children bear much of the strain. So do young people, who make up the majority of the population and often have to rebuild from disaster after disaster. Africa’s youth are creative and resilient, but they are fighting a crisis they did not cause.

The solutions are clear, even if the political will is not. Developed countries must scale up climate financing, shifting from loans to grants and debt relief tied to adaptation. This is not charity but fairness.

African countries need heavy investment in resilience: better drainage systems, stronger dams, reliable warning networks, and urban plans that keep settlements out of high-risk flood zones. Community-based adaptation should be at the heart of every plan. The people who live through these events understand the risks best. Support youth-led solar projects, seed banks, tree planting and local water management initiatives.

Finally, African states need a unified voice. Divided negotiations weaken collective power. Speaking as one bloc can help secure enforceable commitments on loss and damage at COP30.

A Call to Action
The floods in Mokwa are not an isolated tragedy. They are a signal of what climate change means for a continent already stretched thin. Each disaster pushes development goals further away, costs lives, and tests the limits of resilience.

The world cannot keep treating Africa’s suffering as background noise. Global leaders must turn promises into action and meet the funding gap with urgency and fairness. Climate change is a global problem, but its harshest blows are landing where the capacity to cope is lowest.

If that does not change, the next flood, the next drought, the next cyclone will simply repeat the story of Mokwa in another place, with new names and familiar losses.

Ken Karuri is a journalist and editor with over 15 years of experience in global affairs, business, and geopolitics. He has held senior roles at Bloomberg News, CNBC Africa, CGTN, and Africanews. His work focuses on international development, economic trends, and the power dynamics shaping Africa and beyond.

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