Above: Farmers and pastoralists in a maize growing regions
of Eastern Kenya. A new study finds that climate change could
severely harm crop productivity and increase the likelihood that
disadvantaged rural populations will take up arms. (Photo credit:
Marshall Burke).
Source: Stanford University
Climate change is likely to increase the number of civil wars raging in Africa, according to Stanford researchers. Historical records show that in warmer-than-average years, the number of conflicts rises. The researchers predict that by 2030, Africa could see a greater than 50 percent increase in civil wars, which could mean an additional 390,000 deaths just from fighting alone.
Climate change could increase the likelihood of civil war in sub-Saharan Africa by over 50 percent within the next two decades, according to a new study led by a team of researchers at Stanford University, the University of California-Berkeley, New York University and Harvard University. The study is to be published online this week by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Read more.
Video: The link between climate change and the incidents of civil war in Africa is clear
and strong, says Assistant Prof. David Lobell of the Woods Institute (Jack Hubbard).
