FACTSHEET SOUTHERN AFRICA

Southern Africa has experienced warming exceeding the global average, leading to increased heatwaves, droughts, and economic losses. Future projections indicate severe risks to food systems, human health, and biodiversity, with significant GDP losses if warming reaches 2°C. Adaptation requires transformative, equity-based approaches and a substantial increase in climate finance and research funding for African institutions.

• Southern Africa's average annual surface temperatures rose by 1.04°C to 1.44°C between 1961 and 2015, exceeding the global average. Other observed changes include an increase in hot days, a decrease in cold extremes and frost days, and a doubling of marine heatwaves along the coastline from 1982 to 2016.
• Climate change has caused significant economic damage in the region. Between 1991 and 2010, GDP per capita in southern African countries was on average 13.6% lower than it would have been without human-induced climate change. Specific impacts include the 2015–2016 drought in Zambia, which led to the lowest real economic growth rate in over 15 years due to disrupted hydropower.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (2022). FACTSHEET SOUTHERN AFRICA. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/IPCC%20Regional%20Factsheet_Southern%20Africa_Web.pdf

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. FACTSHEET SOUTHERN AFRICA. 2022. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/IPCC%20Regional%20Factsheet_Southern%20Africa_Web.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=FACTSHEET SOUTHERN AFRICA |date=2022 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/IPCC%20Regional%20Factsheet_Southern%20Africa_Web.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetwork2022factsheet, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{FACTSHEET SOUTHERN AFRICA}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2022}, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/IPCC%20Regional%20Factsheet_Southern%20Africa_Web.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }