The Director of Climate Change and Green Growth at the African Development Bank Anthony Nyong
This section analyses and explores the main environmental challenges that the continent of Africa faces, focusing particularly on the ones that are important to Anthony Nyong’s climate leadership. Unlike in the other reports of this series, because of Nyong’s occupation, this report does not focus on a singular country but on the continent as a whole.
The climate vulnerabilities of the continent are rooted in structural inequalities. Although Africa contributes minimally to global greenhouse gas emissions it faces some of the most dire climate impacts. The combination of rapid population growth, widespread poverty, and high dependence on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture and energy intensify this threat. This section will dive into three climate challenges that are central to Nyong’s leadership: extreme weather events, health risks from rising temperatures, and energy poverty.
Extreme Weather Events
The increasing occurrence of extreme weather events are among the most urgent and harmful environmental challenges faced today, particularly in the continent of Africa. They are becoming more frequent, more intense, and more destructive as the planet warms, and so threaten economic foundations, public health systems, and the social fabric of a multitude of African states. Nyong recognized how these phenomena are an essential part of Africa’s vulnerability to climate change from the early moments of his career. Thus, much of it has focused on developing resilience strategies to address their devastating impacts.
Extreme weather events include but are not limited to droughts, floods, heatwaves, and cyclones. It’s important to highlight that these do not happen in vacuum: they are the product of rising global greenhouse gas emissions, ocean warming, disrupted hydrological cycles and widespread land degradation. In the African continent, where numerous economies rely on rain-fed agriculture and several other climate-sensitive activities, all of these will have disproportionately severe human and financial impacts.
There are several types of extreme weather events. Firstly, droughts are prolonged periods of below-average rainfall, and they have become increasingly common in Africa. They pose grave risks to food and water security, disrupt ecological systems, and cause widespread economic hardship, particularly in regions dependent on agriculture. The Horn of Africa, for instance, has endured multiple consecutive droughts over the past decade. The 2015-2017 droughts contributed to famine conditions across Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia, displacing communities and decimating livestock herds. More recently, between 2020 and 2023, East Africa experienced yet another extended drought cycle, exacerbating hunger and instability. These conditions are especially dangerous in the Sahel, where arid and semi-arid environments are already stressed by desertification and soil degradation. Nyong’s early academic work on water availability and demographic trends in such regions sharpened his awareness of how climate stressors and socio-economic vulnerabilities interact.
Secondly, heatwaves are described as prolonged periods of abnormally high temperatures and are another intensifying threat. They pose immediate risks to human health, reduce agricultural productivity, and overwhelm urban infrastructure. In April 2024, a historic heatwave struck the Sahel, affecting countries such as Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal. Temperatures in Kayes, Mali, reached a staggering 48.5°C, while nighttime temperatures stayed above 32°C, depriving people of relief and increasing heat-related deaths. This event was classified as virtually impossible without human-induced climate change. In addition to loss of life, such extreme heat reduces labor capacity, increases hospital admissions, and compromises the health of already vulnerable populations, including the elderly, pregnant women, and those with preexisting conditions.
Third, flooding events, driven by heavy rainfall, poor drainage systems, and river overflow, have intensified across West and Central Africa. Floods destroy infrastructure, wash away farmland, contaminate water sources, and displace millions. In 2022 alone, 5.9 million people were affected across 20 countries, with 1,132 people killed, 4,005 injured, and 1.8 million displaced. The economic losses are immense, including damage to housing, transport, education, and healthcare systems. Urban flooding is particularly severe in cities with rapid population growth but limited planning.
In Nigeria, floods have repeatedly devastated communities along major rivers, while countries like Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo are also experiencing more frequent floods. Furthermore, Cyclone Idai, which struck Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi in March 2019, was one of the worst storms to ever hit the Southern Hemisphere. It displaced over 1.5 million people and caused over 1,000 deaths. An estimated 750,000 people were in immediate need of assistance, and the storm had long-lasting effects on infrastructure, agriculture, and public health.
Nyong has emphasized in his writings that extreme weather events are not merely natural disasters, but manifestations of broader systemic and anthropogenic forces. Global greenhouse gas emissions have altered the hydrological cycle, leading to more intense rainfall in some regions and prolonged dryness in others. Ocean warming alters rainfall patterns and cyclone trajectories, while land degradation, caused by deforestation, overgrazing, and/or poor land use, reduces the land’s natural ability to retain moisture and buffer storms. Moreover, poor infrastructure and planning amplify the impacts of these hazards. Inadequate drainage systems, fragile healthcare infrastructure, and unregulated urban growth create conditions where even moderate weather events become catastrophic.
Nyong has consistently argued that these impacts are not evenly distributed: the poorest and most vulnerable suffer the most. For instance, women and children are often more exposed to food insecurity and displacement, while rural communities are left without access to emergency services. These events not only reverse development gains but can also contribute to long-term instability. As both a scientist and a policy leader, Anthony Nyong sees extreme weather events as a central climate and development concern.
Rising Temperatures and Related Health Risks
Alongside extreme weather events, rising temperatures present a profound and multi-layered challenge to Africa’s development. Rising temperatures refer to the long-term increase in average surface air temperatures driven by human-induced climate change, primarily from greenhouse gas emissions. Temperatures across the continent are increasing at a rate faster than the global average, posing wide-ranging threats to public health, labor productivity, food systems, and ecosystems. The effects of rising temperatures on human health in Africa are both direct and indirect. At the most immediate level, extreme heat increases the risk of heatstroke, dehydration, and cardiovascular strain, especially in outdoor labor-intensive sectors like agriculture and construction. However, the more insidious impacts emerge in the form of climate-sensitive diseases, malnutrition, and the weakening of already overstretched health infrastructure.
Rising temperatures accelerate the spread of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever by expanding the habitats of mosquitoes and other disease carriers. Diseases that were once limited to tropical zones are now being reported at higher altitudes and in previously unaffected regions. For instance, highland communities in Kenya and Ethiopia, once shielded by cooler climates, are now experiencing outbreaks of malaria. In addition, warmer temperatures in combination with erratic rainfall patterns increase the frequency of waterborne diseases such as cholera, especially in flood-affected or informal settlements with poor sanitation.
Air pollution is another compounding factor. Heat intensifies ground-level ozone formation and worsens indoor air pollution in poorly ventilated spaces, contributing to respiratory illnesses such as asthma and chronic bronchitis. These interlocking health challenges create a “climate-health syndemic”. This is a scenario in which multiple health threats interact with each other and with socio-economic inequalities to magnify the total burden of a disease.
According to the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, average temperatures in Africa are projected to rise between two and three degrees celsius by mid-century without significant global mitigation. Some regions (particularly in Northern, Western, and Southern Africa) are already experiencing prolonged periods of high temperatures that exceed historical averages.
“Workplace heat stress, health and productivity – An increasing challenge for low and middle-income countries during climate change”, a study published in Global Health Action, found that heat stress is already reducing worker capacity in agriculture and construction sectors across Sub-Saharan Africa. The report noted that by 2050, labor productivity losses could reach 10–20% in the most affected countries. This is especially concerning for economies where informal outdoor labor dominates and heat protection infrastructure, for example cooling centers or shaded areas, are limited. Urban areas are also increasingly exposed due to the urban heat island effect, which traps heat in dense, poorly ventilated cityscapes. In many African cities, rapid population growth and limited green space mean that vulnerable groups, including slum dwellers and low-income workers, are at even greater risk.
Furthermore, Africa’s public health systems face significant structural challenges even in the absence of climate stress. Many countries operate with low doctor-to-patient ratios, insufficient hospital capacity, and limited disease surveillance networks. The additional burden of climate-driven health crises stretches these systems to their limits.
Nyong has spoken extensively about how this undermines the continent’s resilience. He notes that “without climate-resilient healthcare infrastructure, we are not just losing lives – we are forfeiting decades of development”. Health, therefore, becomes the threat that connects climate vulnerability to broader cycles of exclusion and poverty. Nyong’s broader concern is that if health is not treated as central to climate adaptation, Africa will continue to face mounting mortality, declining productivity, and deepening inequality.
Energy Poverty and Inequality
While rising temperatures and extreme weather events pose urgent environmental and humanitarian challenges, a chronic lack of access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services represents one of the most critical structural barriers to development and climate resilience. This is clearly shown in Figure 1, which also highlights how little improvement and change there has been since the beginning of this century. Moreover, energy poverty is not only a developmental issue, but also a fundamental equity concern that drives inequality, limits economic opportunity, and slows progress on climate goals. For Anthony Nyong, energy access is inseparable from the continent’s ability to adapt to climate change. About 600 million people on the continent (nearly half its population) lack access to electricity, and over 900 million people are without clean cooking solutions.
Energy poverty in Africa is multifaceted, it includes not only the absence of electricity but also unreliable power grids, dependence on traditional biomass (such as firewood and charcoal), and a lack of access to modern energy appliances. In rural areas, where electrification rates often fall below 30%, communities face significant obstacles to meeting basic needs. Clinics operate without refrigeration, schools lack lighting, and families are forced to cook with polluting fuels that damage both health and the environment. Nyong has argued that this energy inequality deepens the marginalization of Africa’s most vulnerable population. Women and girls, in particular, bear the brunt of energy poverty. They spend hours collecting firewood, are exposed to harmful indoor air pollution, and often have limited opportunities for education or income generation as a result.
Additionally, in rapidly growing cities across Africa, grid instability and frequent blackouts disrupt business operations, increase reliance on diesel generators, and inflate the cost of doing business. The lack of dependable power also makes the digital transformation, remote education, and climate-smart infrastructure more difficult to implement.
The roots of Africa’s energy poverty lie in historical underinvestment, policy fragmentation, and unequal access to finance and technology. Many African governments lack the capital to invest in large-scale grid infrastructure or renewable energy development. Meanwhile, private investors are often deterred by perceived risks, including political instability, regulatory uncertainty, and low returns in rural markets.
Figure 2
Energy systems in much of the continent were designed for colonial and extractive purposes and not for inclusive development. As a result, the benefits of modern energy have remained concentrated in a few urban centers, while rural and peri-urban communities are left behind. Even where access exists, affordability remains a challenge. Households often pay more for electricity in sub-Saharan Africa than in Europe or North America, despite lower incomes. The rapid fall in global prices for solar and wind technology has created new opportunities, but the upfront costs of installation and the lack of financing mechanisms (like pay-as-you-go models or microcredit) still prevent many households from adopting them.
Energy poverty acts as a brake on virtually every aspect of development. These limitations stifle innovation and entrepreneurship, contributing to high unemployment and deepening regional inequalities. Health outcomes are also closely tied to energy access. Indoor air pollution from open fires and traditional cookstoves is one of the leading causes of premature death in Africa, contributing to respiratory illnesses, heart disease, and child mortality. Hospitals and emergency services are often unable to function effectively during blackouts or extreme weather events, a risk exacerbated by climate change.
From a climate perspective, the continued reliance on firewood, kerosene, and diesel generators is both unsustainable and inefficient. These fuels not only contribute to deforestation and pollution but also hinder the transition to low-carbon energy systems. For Nyong, this highlights the need for a dual strategy that addresses both mitigation and adaptation.
Extreme weather events devastate livelihoods and infrastructure, rising temperatures worsen health burdens and productivity losses, and energy poverty entrenches inequality while slowing the green transition. Together, these interconnected challenges highlight Nyong’s conviction that climate action in the continent of Africa must simultaneously protect the most vulnerable populations and unlock pathways for development, underscoring that his leadership aims to persistently link climate solutions to socio-economic transformation.
IExRAIA Summer Research Program:
This article is an excerpt from a report on Anthony Nyong produced as part of an RAIA research program on climate leaders. For a full picture of Ruto’s climate leadership, including the sources, read the full report. This project was fully financed by IE University’s IE School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs.
Authors: Luiza da Costa Carvalho Melo & Sara Tobar Herrera
Editor: Joshua Dario Hasenstab
Project Leads: Roxane de Bergevin & Stefani Obradovic
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