Deadly Africa heat caused by human-induced warming – study

Human-caused climate change contributed to an unusually intense and lethal hot spell throughout West Africa’s Sahel region in April, according to a study by World Weather Attribution (WWA), an international network of scientists focusing on extreme weather events.

The heatwave caused temperatures in Mali and Burkina Faso to climb to more than 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) between April 1 and April 5, an unusual spike for the season that likely led to numerous deaths, said the study published on Thursday.

The extreme weather also coincided with the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and frequent power cuts, heightening the risk of heat-related casualties.

“Even minimum temperatures, overnight, remained relatively high, making it so that people did not get a break from the heat,” the study added.

The WWA’s observations and climate models found that “heatwaves with the magnitude observed in March and April 2024 in the region would have been impossible to occur without the global warming of 1.2C to date”, which it linked to “human-induced climate change”.

Although the Sahel is accustomed to bouts of heat during this time of year, the extreme hot spell in April would have been 1.4C cooler “if humans had not warmed the planet by burning fossil fuels” such as coal and other activities such as deforestation.

The study noted that the five days of extreme heat was a once-in-a-200-year event.

But it warned that “these trends will continue with future warming”.

The WWA recommended that countries formulate heat action plans that would warn citizens when extreme temperatures are imminent and offer guidance on how to prevent overheating.

It additionally called for strengthening critical infrastructure such as electricity, water, and healthcare systems to adapt to the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme heat.