Researchers have warned that Africa is at risk of experiencing a massive human migration crisis, projecting that over 113 million people across the continent could become climate migrants by 2050 due to the escalating impacts of climate change.
Latest reports show that the African continent is one of the hardest hit by climate-induced disasters, including floods, droughts, heatwaves, and rising sea levels, despite contributing less than four per cent to global greenhouse gas emissions.
These extreme events are compounding long-standing development challenges and forcing millions, particularly youth and children, into displacement and uncertainty.
The warning comes from researchers affiliated with the African Climate Mobility Initiative (ACMI), who recently launched a new publication titled Climate Mobility Guidebook for Youth and Children in Africa.
The guidebook, authored by Lukmon Akintola, Gislaine Kengne, and Afees Akinola Agboola, sheds light on the growing reality of climate-driven mobility across the continent.
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The lead author of the guidebook, Lukmon Akintola said: “The climate crisis is not waiting for anyone. It is here, and it is particularly unforgiving in regions like ours that have contributed the least to global greenhouse gas emissions.”
The report cites striking figures: in 2022 alone, at least 7.4 million people were internally displaced in Sub-Saharan Africa due to climate-related disasters.
Of these, more than 1.85 million were children, with displacement incidents such as the deadly floods in Nigeria, which uprooted over 2.4 million people, and the prolonged drought crisis in Somalia, which forced over one million people to flee their homes.
The catastrophic flooding in Libya, which displaced over 43,000 people and claimed more than 5,000 lives, is also highlighted as a stark example of the continent’s climate vulnerability.
Story was adapted from The Nation.
