Africa’s intensifying heatwaves show urgent need for finance
Globally, July was the hottest month on record. Africa experienced its hottest night, with the temperature in Adrar, Algeria, not falling below 39.6C.
Increasingly intense heat has many consequences around the world, including boosting demand for electricity to power air conditioning and refrigeration. If global warming is limited to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels by 2100, then by 2050 the electricity needed for cooling is still likely to be equivalent to the US’s, EU’s and Japan’s combined generation capacity in 2016, notes a recent Oxford University study. But if the world warms by 2C, the growth in cooling needs will be far larger, and the increase will be most pronounced in Africa, the study found.