Uganda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo are among African countries likely to be hit by extreme temperatures if climate targets are missed, a new Oxford University report, says.
The global analysis concluded that African countries not only had the highest cooling requirements historically, between 2009 and 2018, but will also face the highest surge in heat exposure if the planet warms by 2ºC.
Besides Uganda, the other African countries at risk include Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Mali, South Sudan, Nigeria, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad, and Cameroon.
According to the report, Africa will see the most extreme increase in temperatures overall if the world overshoots climate targets, experiencing the highest need for cooling in a 2.0ºC scenario.
For their analysis, the authors used the concept of “cooling degree days,” a method widely employed in research and weather forecasting to ascertain whether cooling would be needed on a particular day to keep populations comfortable.
CREDIT: The East African