The World Meteorological Organization has noted that although Africa produces only a small fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions, it bears a very heavy burden of climate change.

by Guillermo Alvarado

In recent days, large areas of Africa, Asia and Europe have been the victims of torrential rains and floods that have caused numerous deaths and considerable economic damage, and are an example of how climatic events are becoming more intense and destructive.

In West and Central Africa, several cities and towns were flooded, killing more than a thousand people, destroying hundreds of thousands of homes and displacing an estimated one million people.

Given the magnitude of the disaster, the death toll is very difficult to count and figures are considered preliminary in Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Mali, where the worst flooding in 60 years has been recorded.

The World Meteorological Organization has noted that although Africa produces only a small fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions, it bears a very heavy burden of climate change.

Adaptation will require at least $30-50 billion per year, which the continent does not have and the international community is reluctant to provide.

The situation is no better in Asia, where much of Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar were hit by Super Typhoon Yagi, whose rains flooded vast areas and whose high winds destroyed everything in its path.

In Myanmar alone, the military junta that rules the country reported more than 110 dead and some 64 missing after the passage of the meteorological phenomenon with unusual force.

As in Africa, the floods in Southeast Asia have brought other misfortunes, such as the presence of crocodiles and poisonous snakes carried by the waters.

Meanwhile, in Central and Eastern Europe, from Austria to Romania, Storm Boris has caused rivers to swell, flooding many cities to unprecedented levels, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said that water levels are rising in some parts of Germany as well, and strict monitoring is being maintained.

Global warming is a reality that often strikes in different parts of the world, where summits and periodic and expensive meetings multiply and communiqués rain down, but no concrete action is taken and production and consumption patterns are not changed.