Climate change in Senegal

Economic impact of 2°C in Senegal

Climate change in Senegal will have wide reaching impacts on many aspects of life in Senegal. Climate change will cause an increase in average temperatures over west Africa by between 1.5 and 4 °C (3 °F and 7 °F) by mid-century, relative to 1986–2005.[1] Projections of rainfall indicate an overall decrease in rainfall and an increase in intense mega-storm events over the Sahel.[2][3] The sea level is expected to rise faster in West Africa than the global average.[4][5] Although Senegal is currently not a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, it is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change.[6][7]

Extreme drought is impacting agriculture, and causing food and job insecurity. More than 70% of the population is employed in the agricultural sector. Sea level rise and resulting coastal erosion is expected to cause damage to coastal infrastructure and displace a large percentage of the population living in coastal areas. Climate change also has the potential to increase land degradation that will likely increase desertification in eastern Senegal, leading to an expansion of the Sahara.[8]

Climate change adaptation policies and plans are important to help Senegal prepare and adapt. In 2006, Senegal submitted its National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.[9] The NAPA identifies water resources, agriculture, and coastal zones as the country's most vulnerable sectors.[10] In 2015, Senegal released its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC's) that indicated climate change would be treated as a national priority.[10]

  1. ^ Niang, I; Ruppel, O.C; Abdrabo, M.A; Essel, A; Lennard, C; Padgham, J; Urquhart, P (2014). Africa. Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. pp. 1199–1265.
  2. ^ Berthou, S.; Kendon, E. J.; Rowell, D. P.; Roberts, M. J.; Tucker, S.; Stratton, R. A. (2019). "Larger Future Intensification of Rainfall in the West African Sahel in a Convection-Permitting Model". Geophysical Research Letters. 46 (22): 13299–13307. Bibcode:2019GeoRL..4613299B. doi:10.1029/2019GL083544. ISSN 1944-8007.
  3. ^ Klein, Cornelia; Taylor, Christopher M. (2020-09-01). "Dry soils can intensify mesoscale convective systems". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 117 (35): 21132–21137. doi:10.1073/pnas.2007998117. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 7474668. PMID 32817526.
  4. ^ "Sea-Level Rise: West Africa Is Sinking". Earth.Org - Past | Present | Future. 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  5. ^ Croitoru, Lelia; Miranda, Juan José; Sarraf, Maria (2019-03-13). The Cost of Coastal Zone Degradation in West Africa. World Bank, Washington, DC. doi:10.1596/31428. hdl:10986/31428.
  6. ^ Judt, Daniel (2019-09-24). "In Senegal, Climate Change Is Robbing Thousands of Their Homes". The Nation. ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  7. ^ team, FPFIS (2018-11-22). "Fossil CO
    2     emissions of all world countries - 2018 Report"    . EU Science Hub - European Commission. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  8. ^ "Senegal | UNDP Climate Change Adaptation". www.adaptation-undp.org. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ a b "Review of Current and Planned Adaptation Action in Senegal". International Institute for Sustainable Development. Retrieved 2020-11-26.