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The African Union Commission (AUC) has called on member states and development partners to support strategic investment in modern hydrometeorological infrastructure, regional collaboration, and capacity building as climate shocks continue to undermine Africa’s development.
According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), climate shocks now cost Africa up to $100 billion annually, undermining years of progress and jeopardizing food security for millions.
Director for Sustainable Environment and Blue Economy at the AUC, Harsen Nyambe Nyambe, made the call during the launch of the State of Africa Climate Report 2025 held at Pamodzi Hotel in Lusaka, Zambia on Thursday.
Nyambe said Africa remained one of the regions most vulnerable to climate variability and change despite contributing the least to global greenhouse gas emissions, with droughts, floods, tropical cyclones, heatwaves and other extreme events.
He stated that this was undermining lives, livelihoods, food systems, water security, public health, infrastructure and economic development.
Nyambe stated that these climate shocks were development challenges that threatened the realisation of Africa’s pan-African vision as enshrined in Agenda 2063, the Sustainable Development Goals and collective aspirations.
“Today, as we launch the State of Africa Climate Report 2025, we stand at a pivotal crossroads for our continent’s future. The evidence before us is unambiguous. Climate change is no longer a distant threat. It is a present crisis, reshaping African economies, societies, and ecosystems with growing intensity,” he said.
He noted that Global Economic Forum risk assessments placed extreme weather, ecosystem collapse and critical changes to Earth systems among the gravest challenges of our time, with the risks translating into lost lives, eroded livelihoods and stalled development for Africa.
“The IPCC’s 7th Assessment Report projects that sub-Saharan Africa’s crop yields for vital staples such as maize and sorghum, may fall by 20% by 2050; and that over 250 million people in Africa are expected to face high water stress,” Nyambe stated.
He added that extreme events such as floods and droughts fueled migration, strained public health and threatened to reverse hard-won gains in poverty reduction and economic growth, with women and children in rural communities bearing a disproportionate share of the burden.
Nyambe said beyond the continental State of Climate Report, country-specific status reports were needed to directly address national needs for resilience building.
He called on National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, in collaboration with ministries, departments, local governments and stakeholders, to make such reports a reality at the national level, noting that the AUC was committed to working closely with all member states on the agenda.
State House Permanent Secretary for Special Duties Professor Lackson Kasonka noted that Africa stood at a critical climate crossroads as rising temperatures, intense extreme weather events, and changing rainfall patterns undermine food security, water resources, public health, energy systems, and economic development.
Kasonka noted that 2025 had been marked by significant climate extremes, with many African countries grappling with prolonged droughts, devastating floods, destructive storms and record-breaking heatwaves.
“These are not merely environmental statistics, the statement said, as they represent lives lost, families displaced, livelihoods destroyed, infrastructure damaged, and development gains eroded,” he said.
The report highlights long-term trends with Africa’s glaciers vanishing fast and have lost more than 90 per cent of their area since the late nineteenth century.
On Mount Kilimanjaro, glacier coverage has shrunk from 11.4 square kilometres in 1900 to less than one square kilometre today.
At the same time, ocean warming continues across the region, affecting coastal communities and marine ecosystems. Sea-level rise along Africa’s coasts between 1999 and 2025 exceeded the global average.
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