Intense floods signal Nigeria’s growing climate crisis

‘Climate change is no longer a distant threat. It is here. It is now,’ says Dr. Tunde Alade, a climate scientist and disaster preparedness expert based in Abuja. ‘What we’re witnessing are the compounding effects of poor drainage infrastructure, deforestation, and erratic weather patterns driven by global warming.’

Nigeria’s national flood emergency agency says over two million people were displaced by floods in 2022 alone. With climate models projecting heavier and more erratic rains across West Africa, experts warn that tragedies like Mokwa’s could become the new normal without urgent climate adaptation.

In Mokwa, rescue operations continue. Temporary camps are being established in schools and community centers. Humanitarian organizations have begun providing food and supplies, but there is increasing fear of waterborne disease, especially among children. Health services, as previously eluded, are overwhelmed.

Nigeria, like most countries in Africa, has very little with which to adequately respond to frequent climate disasters. While there has been a commitment by the government to enhance early warning and resettlement of those affected, little progress has materialized. Local communities bear the lion’s share of the responsibility with little to help recover.

African leaders and climate advocates have long called on wealthier nations to provide climate finance that is reflective of the level of damage being caused. At the last UN climate summit, African nations emphasized the need for loss and damage funding – a mechanism to compensate communities for irreversible climate destruction.

Mokwa’s disaster reinforces the urgency of that demand.