Harare — At least one person has died and more than 1,000 families evacuated after wildfires have swept across parts of northern Morocco, reports Anadolu Agency.
Moroccan firefighters have struggled for at least five days to bring fires under control, according to reports. The National Agency for Water and Forests (ANEF) is said to have reported that as of July 17, 6,600 hectares has been devastated by flames.
The fires have been blamed on soaring temperatures surpassing 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) due to the climate emergency.
Experts have shown that climate change brings more drought and higher temperatures that make it easy for fires to start and spread.
Morocco is very vulnerable to the climate crisis, due to its geographical location, and is prone among others to more frequent extreme weather events, water scarcity, declining agricultural production, and sea rise level, according to Climate Expert.
For African countries, the past few years have been marked by deadly floods, severe droughts and wildfires which have left little doubt that the earth’s climate is changing.
The African Climate Policy Centre’s analysis shows that over two degrees of warming will result in African nations losing over 5% of their GDP annually by 2030.
The World Health Organization has warned that climate change is now the single biggest health threat facing humanity, but scientists have agreed that the worst impacts can be avoided with coordinated and rapid climate action. Proposed goals include an end date to the use of coal, making new cars zero-emissions within 20 years and ending deforestation by the end of the 2020s.
The 27th UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP27) will be held just in Egypt from November 7-18 2022 with the theme, uniting the world to tackle climate change. It will bring together governments, civil society and other groups to accelerate global efforts to confront the climate crisis. The meeting is crucial as the latest science shows that climate change is happening much faster, and is pushing ecosystems and communities to their limits.