After reading the article “Without Warning: A Lack of Weather Stations Is Costing African Lives” by Federike Otto, I have gained a new perspective. Otto highlights that “floods are one of the deadliest natural disasters worldwide, but deaths linked with flooding aren’t distributed evenly. They most often occur in places that lack weather data and warning systems — and most of those places are in the Global South. The U.S. and E.U. combined have 636 weather radar stations for a population of 1.1 billion, while Africa, with 1.2 billion people, has just 37.” The lack of weather radar in this part of the world highlights a major challenge to disaster preparedness and response. This extremely amplifies the exposure of African populations to natural catastrophes — floods, droughts, heatwaves, cyclones, wildfires, etc at a catastrophic level. We see this evidence every year in the news. This gap causes increased fatalities but also reduces disaster management and mitigation. It is a major opportunity for the growth of sustainability, adaptation to climate, and investments in climate finance.

As an undergraduate international student, I thought academics and culture would be my main foreign experience. I was surprised to experience life in a well-functioning emergency warning system, weather stations, and strong protocols for implementing evacuations. We received alarming notifications for storms, tornados, and winter blizzards. Comparatively, I was raised in a country with insufficient weather warning systems. On a rainy day after school, we boarded our school buses to head home. Unfortunately, my classmates did not get home that night because their bus was marooned in water all night. 

So imagine yourself receiving a notification on your phone at work; it reads: flashflood warning! On a bright Tuesday afternoon. When you receive a warning, make it your highest priority to gather essential items (food and water) as the alert system predicts that within 24 hours, there will be heavy rainfall in your region, so prepare for possible floods. You take the warning seriously and start preparing by securing important documents and valuables in waterproof containers. You inform your family and neighbors about the warning, and everyone begins to prepare. Local authorities share information on safe evacuation routes and community shelters. You contact your workplace to discuss contingency plans, and if you own a business, you take steps to safeguard inventory and equipment. By evening, you’ve moved your family to a designated safe area. You sleep soundly, knowing that everyone is safe and that you’re well-prepared for the potential flood. The flood hits at 3 AM, but thanks to the warning and your preparations, your family is safe in a shelter. Your home and belongings might suffer damage, but the most important thing – your loved ones’ lives – are protected, and the local economy has an opportunity to continue as usual.

Well now consider you lived elsewhere in a country where there are nonexistent, and weather forecasts are unreliable. It’s the same sunny Tuesday afternoon, and you go about your day with no knowledge of the impending danger. You go to work, chat with your neighbors, and return home in the evening, completely unaware of the severe weather heading your way. You notice dark clouds but think nothing of it. At night, you and your family go to bed, unaware of the torrential rain that begins to fall around midnight. At 3 AM, disaster strikes. You’re jolted awake by the sound of rushing water. The flash flood has arrived, and it’s too late to evacuate. The water rises quickly, inundating your home. In the chaos, you struggle to gather your family. With no warning or preparation, the flood takes everything. Your home is destroyed, and tragically, the lives of your children and spouse are lost in the disaster. The next few months involve your local community recovering lost items and starting up the local economy. This is not fiction, it is a lived reality for people across Africa. 

This brings us to a comparative analysis of climate preparedness and mitigation:

“In comparing 2021’s Hurricane Ida in the U.S. with 2019’s Tropical Cyclone Idai in East Africa: Both were Category 4 storms, but Ida killed fewer than 100 people, while Idai killed more than 1,000. Early warning was a key difference between the two disasters.” – Federike Otto

During the 2015 heatwave in Egypt , there were around 100 deaths and over 200 fatalities, exacerbated by limited healthcare infrastructure and inadequate public awareness of heat-related health risks. Most victims had no access to cooling centers. Conversely, in 2003, European countries faced a severe heatwave that led to over 70,000 deaths across six countries. The people were eager to prevent this from happening again. Heat warnings and guidelines on keeping cool were made available by governments and communities. They then developed comprehensive heat action plans to predict and alert the public of upcoming heat waves. They created green spaces through urban planning and used heat-reflective building materials to cool buildings and public spaces. In 2023, Egypt still has a large portion of its population suffering from the increasing impacts of heat waves each summer. We must advocate for change. 

Droughts have been another major issue. In 2011-2012 affected over 13 million people across Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya. As is common knowledge, inadequate infrastructure has impacted hundreds and thousands of people. Even today, emergency response is still limited, and things like famine and conflict made the crisis even worse.  Conversely, from 2011-2017, California faced a drought that led to significant agricultural losses and water shortages. Even though this increased the risks of wildfires, the fatalities were minimal due to robust water management systems, state-level drought emergency plans, and the economic capacity to mitigate the worst effects through technological solutions and aid programs.

This comparison illustrates a level of preparedness and capacity to recover that African leaders and communities have yet to attain.

Here's what we can take away from this - there's a chance for us to grow, find answers, and make reasonable changes. We MUST invest in technology that provides better prediction, preparedness, and response to environmental disasters, such as weather monitoring, prediction systems, and public alert systems like sirens, and message alerts. Second, we NEED to allocate significant resources to disaster preparedness, response, and recovery, including insurance mechanisms, public health infrastructure, and government aid. Third, we need to update and renovate public infrastructure that is not climate-friendly, such as stormwater drains, and ensure proper waste management to prevent clogging of drainage systems. Finally, and most importantly, we need to ensure the widespread availability of public environmental education and disaster response and mitigation training.

We can learn from successful environmental preparedness and implement these strategies, so we can build a more climate resilient future for all Africans across their various intersectional groups.

Shukrani - thank you