If you failed to read past the headlines of the recent climate change report that’s fine, the never-ending stories concerning freak weather events taking place around the world is all the background information you need to realise that the consequences of humans burning fossil fuels at an unprecedented rate since the 19th century is finally at a tipping point.

U.N. Secretary General António Guterres called the findings a “code red for humanity,” adding that the “alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable.”

Last month, intense storms dropped as much as 15 centimeters of rain in 24 hours across western Germany and parts of Belgium. Swelled streams washed away houses and cars and triggered massive landslides. At least 200 people died and thousands of livelihoods and lives were destroyed.

The intensity and scale of the floods shocked climate scientists, who did not expect rainfall records to be broken so much, over such a wide area so soon.

During a visit to the stricken town of Aden, outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel said; “The German language can barely describe the devastation.”

As Europe experienced its second warmest July this year, the continent has endured a severe fire season.

The number of fires recorded within the EU were well above normal levels by March. By the beginning of August, the European Forest Fire Information System had registered more than 1,100 fires, or over 300 more than the recent annual average total.

In the first two weeks of August, a series of wildland fires have charred a large swath of the Greek island of Evia and several areas of the Peloponnese region. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told several news agencies that the fire outbreak has been a “disaster of unprecedented proportions.”

With fires still burning in parts of Italy and Turkey, the full extent of the patterns and the links between extreme weather and climate change are under intense and ongoing scrutiny from scientists around the world.

In February, 4.5 million businesses and homes were left without power in Texas as temperatures dropped to -13℃ . Power went out across the state, leaving many vulnerable people in extremely cold conditions. The total death toll rose from 151 to 210 in July, after a decision was made to include deaths caused by the collapse of the state electric power grid in the final count.

Unfortunately the most devastating climate change disasters fail to hit the major headlines

Five African countries: Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi, South Sudan, and Niger, are among the world’s top 10 nations to be the worst affected by climate change through disruptions to productivity in key economic sectors including agriculture, roads, dams, and other infrastructure according to the new Global Climate Index 2021released by Germanwatch. Weather data infrastructure is practically non-existent.

Much of these prophesies are already playing out.

Mozambique

Mozambique remains one of the most affected country world-wide by the impacts of extreme weather events. Cyclone Idai – which struck the region in March 2019 was one of the worst tropical cyclones on record to affect Africa and the Southern Hemisphere. Over 1,000 people across Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe were killed leaving 2.6 million people in desperate need of humanitarian assistance. The cyclone caused $3.2bn worth of damage, equivalent to 22% of the country’s gross domestic product, or half its annual budget. The government was forced to borrow $118.2m from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to respond to the emergency, taking its national debt to a crippling $14.78bn. The country has been hit by several floods and cyclones in the past. With more likely to take place in the foreseeable future.

Niger

Dozens of people were killed and tens of thousands left homeless after heavy floods caused by torrential rains wreaked havoc in the Sahel country last month. According to The World Bank floods in 2020, which caused significant losses and damage that triggered a humanitarian crisis affecting some 60,000 households, have led to socioeconomic losses in the agriculture sector amounting to approximately $90 million.

South Sudan

Severe flooding is affecting an estimated 800,000 people across a vast area of South Sudan, overwhelming homes and leaving people without enough food, water or shelter. Many areas have been flooded since July, while river levels are continuing to rise, worsening the crisis. The UN says that about 1.6 million people have been affected by the floods in a country where already at least 7.5 million people need assistance. A recent report by the Integrated food security Phase Classification, (IPC), an initiative by 15 organisations to tackle malnutrition, estimates that 6.4 million people, about half the population, will face acute food insecurity in 2021, and for half of them their lack of food will be an emergency.

We are living in a time of record-breaking natural disasters which will have serious implications for the world economy including agriculture, water and health sectors across Africa.

The hope is that climate change is reversible and the global north are already marching ahead with plans to alleviate the damage. COP26 taking place later this year will be a pivotal moment in determining the way forward.

Africa must fight for our seat at the table so that it’s inhabitants do not suffer from the potentially devastating plans that the West will thrust onto us.

History is our only teacher.