Emerging issues

Climate change projections for the sub-region (see Section 3.3) indicate growing uncertainty in making predictions, especially for rainfall patterns, floods and droughts. The sub-region’s largely coastal urban populations live in high density, often low-lying and vulnerable areas.218 Floods occur regularly, with cities unprepared for the scale and degree of their destruction. Poor catchment management exacerbates vulnerability to extreme events while weather variability introduced by climate change is exacerbating these. Mali, Mauritania and Sudan are extremely vulnerable to climate change-induced droughts, yet this vulnerability may well extend to other countries, affecting cities such as Bamako, Dakar, Douala, Lagos, Niamey and Ouagadougou.

Related Subject(s): Human Settlements and Urban Issues