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Africa's dual climate threat: Heat meets wildfire smoke
6 Nov
Summary
- Zambia, DRC, and Malawi face most annual heatwave and smoke days.
- Heatwaves are the primary driver of increased hazard overlap.
- Low-income countries experience significantly more overlap days.
A global analysis has identified Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Malawi as countries experiencing the highest annual overlap of heatwave and wildfire smoke days. Between 2000 and 2019, an average of 916 million people annually endured at least one such day, a number that increased by 287 million each decade.
The primary driver behind this rise is the increasing frequency of heatwaves, which contributed 70.5 percent to the growth in overlap days, while population increase accounted for 29.5 percent. Heatwave days rose in 87 percent of mapped areas, whereas smoke days increased in only 28 percent, mainly in North America.
Africa accounts for approximately 39 percent of all person-days of overlap. Low-income countries averaged 4.4 overlap days annually, a stark contrast to the 0.4 days in high-income countries. This disparity widened over the two decades, as low-income nations also experienced the most rapid increase.
Cambodia showed a surprising surge, ranking ninth in overlap days per person in the second decade, up from 40th. Researchers noted that economic development does not guarantee reduced exposure to these environmental hazards. The study focused on exposure rather than health impacts, highlighting the need for further research on how combined heat and smoke affects well-being.
