Africa Up in Smoke? 2: An update report on Africa and global warming from the working group on climate change and development

Overview

Too much or too little rain can be a matter of life or death in Africa. At different times and in different places across the continent, climate change threatens both. This briefing brings up to date the original report from the Working Group on Climate Change and Development, Africa – Up in smoke?, released in 2005. Note: a figure cited in this 2006 report on maximum temperature rise in Kericho, Kenya (page 5) has been questioned (February, 2013). The statistic was from the following study ‘Vulnerability to climate induced highland malaria in East Africa’. However, the cited temperature change in this location seems an extreme example of rising temperatures, nor do we know if this increase has been maintained. Oxfam would, therefore, no longer cite this as a good example of the general warming trend observed across Africa.