FACTSHEET EAST AFRICA

The document details how East Africa has experienced warming exceeding the global average, leading to increased drought frequency, glacier loss, and significant economic losses. Future projections indicate severe risks to human health, food security, and biodiversity, particularly if warming exceeds 1.5°C. It emphasizes the need for transformative adaptation, increased climate finance, and improved climate services to build regional resilience.

• East Africa has experienced warming that exceeds the global average, with average annual surface temperatures increasing by 0.7°C–1°C between 1973 and 2013. This has been accompanied by a doubling of drought frequency since 2005, now occurring every three years instead of every six.
• Climate change has caused significant degradation of glaciers and marine ecosystems in the region. Glaciers on Mount Kenya decreased by 44% from 2004 to 2016, and projections suggest glaciers on the Rwenzoris and Mount Kenya will disappear by 2030, and on Kilimanjaro by 2040.
• Human health is severely impacted by rising temperatures and shifting disease vectors. Heat-related deaths have increased in Kenya and Tanzania, and malaria-bearing mosquitoes have expanded their range to higher altitudes in East Africa.
• Agricultural productivity and food security are declining due to climate change. Maize and wheat yields in sub-Saharan Africa fell by an average of 5.8% and 2.3% respectively from 1974 to 2008, and future warming above 2°C is projected to reduce staple crop yields across most of Africa.
• Economic output in Africa has been reduced more than in any other global region, with an estimate that African GDP per capita was 13.6% lower from 1991 to 2010 than it would have been without human-induced climate change.
• Future risks include a sharp rise in heat-related mortality and the potential destruction of over 90% of East African coral reefs if global warming reaches 2°C.
• Adaptation is constrained by a severe lack of finance and data. From 1990 to 2019, Africa received only 3.8% of global climate-related research funding, and current adaptation finance flows are billions of dollars below the lowest cost estimates for near-term needs.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (2022). FACTSHEET EAST AFRICA. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/IPCC%20Regional%20Factsheet_East%20Africa_WEB.pdf

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. FACTSHEET EAST AFRICA. 2022. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/IPCC%20Regional%20Factsheet_East%20Africa_WEB.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=FACTSHEET EAST AFRICA |date=2022 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/IPCC%20Regional%20Factsheet_East%20Africa_WEB.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetwork2022factsheet, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{FACTSHEET EAST AFRICA}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2022}, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/IPCC%20Regional%20Factsheet_East%20Africa_WEB.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }