Climate change in Africa News

[UNEP] Today's COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the critical role of rice in ensuring global food security while combating climate change.

[Nation] When it rains, it pours. This statement couldn't be truer in Kenya currently.

[Daily Maverick] If we are to prevent the planet from entering into positive feedback loops that spiral the climate completely out of control, to 6°C or more, it's up to our leaders to act decisively, collectively and scientifically. Because Covid-19 is nothing compared to a 6°C hotter planet - and the science is crystal clear on this.

[The Herald] Britain will continue supporting Zimbabwe in the fight against Covid-19 to minimise the impact of the pandemic, an official with the country's embassy has said.

[New Times] The Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC) has announced that it is going to mobilize financial resources that will help to conduct studies to find out ways of dealing with floods and swashed debris that continues to affect water treatment plants.

[Capital FM] Kenya -The Kenya Metrological Department has warned of heavy rainfall across the country from next week, even as the governmen announced that 237 people have been killed by floods since last month.

[Capital FM] Nairobi -237 people have lost their lives due to floods as rains cause havoc across the country, according to official statistics.

[TechCrunch] Loon, the Alphabet -owned company that's using stratospheric balloons to provide high-speed bandwidth to hard-to-serve areas without strong ground infrastructure, has signed a new deal with carrier Vodacom to expand its offering in Africa to Mozambique.

[Daily Maverick] Hundreds of thousands of people - possibly even a million or more - across southern Africa died from starvation and war during the 'crushing', the Difaqane or Mfecane, of 1816-17. One of the main causes of this often-forgotten catastrophe is finally being revealed by a network of ancient trees.

[Nation] At least 237 people have lost their lives due to floods across the country, Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa said.

[Shabelle] Upon the request of the Government of Puntland, the UN envoy James Swan facilitated a meeting for International Partners to mobilize humanitarian support and re-construction efforts for the flood-hit Qardho.

[Daily News] NEW sports complex currently under construction in Mirerani has now been abandoned because the project site has been flooded by torrential rains currently hitting Simanjiro District, Manyara Region.

[Nyasa Times] FDH Bank has invested K3 million in a project under the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology that will see 2019 Cyclone IDAI victims establish Mother Group Community Savings Groups to improve their well-being.

[Thomson Reuters Foundation] With tens of thousands displaced by heavy rains in western Kenya, following government guidelines to ward off COVID-19 is a major challenge

[The Conversation Africa] Floods are the second most prevalent and devastating natural disasters in sub-Saharan Africa. Between 2000 and 2019 floods accounted for 64% of all disaster events in the region. They affected the livelihoods of about 53 million people and killed more than 14,000. Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique were hit severely over this period.

[Rocky Mountain Institute] Modern health services require electricity everywhere in the world. The Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by United Nations Member States in 2015, include access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030 (SDG 7). This means not only for households, but for all health facilities, everywhere.

[Dalsan Radio] The UNHCR has warned that conflict and serious flooding have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes amid risks of COVID-19 in Somalia.

[New Times] A series of disasters have destroyed at least 3,117 hectares of crops, 124 roads and 64 bridges disrupting economic activities across the country between January and April this year, a report by the Ministry in charge of Emergency Management shows.

[UNEP] The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is stepping up its work on mapping zoonotic threat and protecting the environment to reduce the risk of future pandemics, such as the COVID-19 crisis currently sweeping the globe.

[News24Wire] Dams supplying the Cape metro have declined by 0.6% over the past week (4 May to 10 May) to 54.3% of total capacity.