The Californian wildfires are not the only environmental disaster going on right now. One of the others is the South African drought. Currently, Southern Africa is facing one of the worst droughts it has ever had in over a hundred years. There are an estimated 61 million people suffering from the drought and over 20 million are in a state of crisis (IPC Phase 3)[1].
Image Credit: redcharlie from Unsplash
The drought has become so bad that Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe have all called a state of emergency[2]. In Namibia the drought is especially bad and around 40% of the entire population of the entire country is facing acute food insecurity and is in a crisis phase[3].
To combat the hunger going on, Namibia has ordered a cull of some 700 wild animals including 83 elephants, 30 hippos, and 100 elands to help feed at least part of the population[4]. As of 2024, 84% of Namibia’s food reserves have been exhausted[5].
For some history, this is not the first time a state of emergency has been called over a drought. Not even close. Over the past decade alone, Namibia was in a state of emergency from 2013 to 2014, from 2015 to 2016, and from 2018 to 2019. All three times because of drought[6].
Image Credit: Felipe Labate from Unsplash
How could such a bad drought ever happen? The answer is simple. Climate change.
You will find the same answer for why the wildfires in California are so bad and why the floods in Spain could have been so disastrous. The world is warming, and with it the entire climate system is changing for the worse.
The data supports this fact. From the years 1980 to 1999, there were 4212 natural disasters which claimed 1.19 million lives and $1.63 trillion in economic damages. From the years 2000 to 2019, there were 7348 major natural disasters which resulted collectively in 1.23 million deaths and $2.97 trillion in economic damages.
The huge increase in the number of natural disasters can be directly attributed to climate-related disasters which have jumped by 83 percent between those two time-frames. Major floods have doubled in number. Severe storms have increased by 40 percent[7].
The wildfires in California are not an isolated event. Such disasters are happening worldwide and will continue to occur in higher frequencies and intensity unless climate change is mitigated. Namibia is a beautiful country filled with stunning landscapes, endangered rhinos, and herds of elephants.
To save it and for that matter the world, action must be taken against climate change. You must act.
Image Credit: Getty Images from Unsplash
Why Do Anything About Climate Change?
If you do not live in California, Spain, Southern Africa, or anywhere else that is undergoing some sort of environmental crisis at the current moment, you might be wondering why you have to do anything about climate change. There are multiple answers to that question.
The first is that if no one acts to help solve the climate crisis, the consequences would be horrendous and that scenario most definitely should be avoided. The second is that climate change affects everything on the globe to some extent. Therefore, you are also affected by the impacts of climate change, maybe more than you realize.
However, you may be wondering that if you did take action for the environment, you would not be able to do anything noticeable, at least on a large scale. If you act by yourself this is almost certainly true. However, no matter what, action must be taken and if a large enough number of people realize that, change can very easily take place.
This change must happen now though. The longer the world waits to do anything significant about climate change, the worse the impacts become and the closer the world gets to points of no return.
The world has been waiting for a long time. Almost 170 years in fact[8].
Sources
[3] 1.2 million Namibians could face food insecurity due to drought - The Brief | Namibia's Leading Business & Financial News
[4] Namibia killing elephants, hippos to feed people amid worst drought in a century | CBC News
[6] Namibia killing elephants, hippos to feed people amid worst drought in a century | CBC News
[7] Extreme Weather Events Have Increased Significantly in the Last 20 Years - Yale E360
[8] The Woman Who Demonstrated the Greenhouse Effect | Scientific American
