The highest temperature anomalies in 2023 were recorded across northwestern Africa, especially in Morocco, coastal parts of Mauritania and northwest Algeria.
Several countries including Mali, Morocco, United Republic of Tanzania, and Uganda reported their warmest year on record. Extreme heatwaves in July and August affected northern Africa. Tunis, the capital of Tunisia reached a record of 49.0°C and Agadir, Morocco reached a new maximum temperature of 50.4°C.
Temperature difference in °C with respect to the 1991–2020 climatological period for Africa (WMO Regional Association I) from 1900 to 2023, based on six datasets, including observational datasets.
Regions with a marked rainfall deficit included the western part of North and Northwestern Africa, the Horn of Africa, portions of Southern Africa including Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and most of Namibia. In addition, Madagascar, central Sudan, northern Ethiopia and Uganda suffered from below-normal precipitation.
West Africa experienced a normal to early onset of its monsoon rainy season Precipitation was notably higher than normal in Angola and coastal areas north of the Gulf of Guinea.
Sea-level rise: The rate of sea-level rise around Africa was close to or slightly higher than the global mean rate of 3.4 mm per year. The largest rate of sea level rise was observed in the Red Sea, reaching 4.1 mm per year.
Floods: At least 4 700 confirmed deaths in Libya were attributed to flooding following the Mediterranean cyclone ‘Storm Daniel’ in September, with 8 000 still missing.
Parts of Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia experienced widespread and severe flooding, with more than 350 deaths and 2.4 million displaced people during the April-June rainy season.
Record-breaking tropical Cyclone Freddy caused extensive flooding during the final landfall, both in Mozambique and Malawi, as extremely heavy rain fell (up to 672 mm during the storm in Mozambique). Malawi was especially hard hit with at least 679 deaths reported. A further 165 deaths were reported in Mozambique.
Severe flooding with associated landslides affected central Africa in early May on the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 574 people.
The White Nile in South Sudan reached record high levels in February. Basic needs such as food, clean water, and healthcare were difficult to access and there was a near total collapse of local livelihoods.
In September and October, approximately 300,000 people were affected by flooding across 10 countries, with Niger, Benin, Ghana and Nigeria most heavily impacted.
Drought: Parts of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Democratic Republic of Congo experienced severe drought in 2023. Zambia faced its worst drought in the last 40 years, affecting eight out of ten provinces and approximately six million people.
A Guest EDITORIAL