Four tipping points Africa can expect from climate change

Prof. Francois Engelbrecht

It is common cause that with the level of global warming currently at 1.1 degrees Celsius as of 2021, we are now close to exceeding the dangerous threshold of 1.5 degrees. In fact, according to Francois Engelbrecht, atmospheric modelling specialist, it might already be too late to avoid that mark. He and other climate scientists warn that four important tipping points could impact Africa in particular: droughts lasting three to five years will occur more frequently in southern Africa; Africans will more regularly face the risk of life-threatening heat waves; the combination of heatwaves and droughts could collapse significant crop and livestock farming sectors; and, intense tropical cyclones may move further south than ever before.

—

Francois Engelbrecht is one of South Africa’s pre-eminent climatologists. He is Lead Author on the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Report. Further, Francois spearheads the climate studies, modelling, and environmental health research group at the CSIR. He has carved a niche as a specialist in numerical climate model development and regional climate modelling and drives the development of the first African-based Earth system. He is an associate professor at North-West University and an honorary research associate at Wits.