Floods in Africa : a new hydroclimatic era

The entire Sahelian region was affected by unusually high flooding, from the Atlantic coast to Ethiopia and Somalia. What happened this summer, particularly in the middle Niger River, has all the characteristics of an entry into a new hydroclimatic era," explains T. Lebel, G. Panthou, T. Vischel and A. Lebel. Ali in an article published on 24/11/2020 in "The conversation".

The researchers present the strong regional trends and more circumstantial factors that played a significant role in the exceptional flood of 2020 and warn "Today, climate intensification manifests itself mainly in the form of localized shocks. The continued rise in temperatures will increase the intensity and extent of these shocks, generating large-scale socio-economic imbalances, a trend of which this year’s floods may be a harbinger".