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Anthropogenic land cover change (LCC) can have significant impacts at regional and seasonal scales but also for extreme weather events to which socio-economical systems are vulnerable. However, the effects of LCC on extreme events remain either largely unexplored and/or without consensus following modelling over the historical period (often based on a single model), regional or idealized studies. Here, using simulations performed with five earth system models under common future global LCC scenarios (the RCP8.5 and RCP2.6 Representative Concentration Pathways) and analyzing 20 extreme weather indices, we find future LCC substantially modulates projected weather extremes. On average by the end of the 21st century, under RCP8.5, future LCC robustly lessens global projections of high rainfall extremes by 22% for heavy precipitation days (>10 mm) and by 16% for total precipitation amount of wet days (PRCPTOT). Accounting for LCC diminishes their regional projections by >50% (70%) in southern Africa (northeastern Brazil) but intensifies projected dry days in eastern Africa by 29%. LCC does not substantially affect projections of global and regional temperature extremes (<5%), but it can impact global rainfall extremes 2.5 times more than global mean rainfall projections. Under an RCP2.6 scenario, global LCC impacts are similar but of lesser magnitude, while at regional scale in Amazon or Asia, LCC enhances drought projections. We stress here that multi-coupled modelling frameworks incorporating all aspects of land use are needed for reliable projections of extreme events.

Smallholder rainfed agriculture in West Africa is vital for regional food security and livelihoods, yet it remains highly vulnerable to climate change. Persistently low crop yields, driven by high rainfall variability and frequent climate hazards, highlight the urgent need for evidence-based adaptation strategies. This study assesses the impact of climate change on maize yields in Burkina Faso (BF) using a calibrated AquaCrop model and recent climate projections. AquaCrop was calibrated using district-level maize yields from 2009 to 2022 and a genetic optimization technique. Climate change impacts were then simulated using two socioeconomic scenarios (SSP2–4.5 and SSP5–8.5) for the periods 2016–2045 and 2046–2075. Climate projections show that Burkina Faso will experience temperature increases of 0.5–3 °C and decreased precipitation, with the most severe rainfall reductions in the country’s southern half, including the crucial southwestern agricultural zone. Maize yields will predominantly decrease across the country, with projected losses reaching 20% in most regions. The southwestern agricultural zone, critical for national food production, faces substantial yield decreases of up to 40% under the SSP5-8.5 scenario. In light of these findings, future research should employ the calibrated AquaCrop model to evaluate specific combinations of adaptation strategies. These strategies include optimized planting windows, field-level water management practices, and optimal fertilizer application schedules, providing actionable guidance for smallholder farmers in West Africa.

West Africa is undergoing rapid agricultural intensification driven by population growth, leading to significant anthropogenic land use and land cover change (LCC), including both deforestation and afforestation. These changes can profoundly affect the regional climate system by altering the surface energy balance, moisture fluxes, and atmospheric circulation, potentially exacerbating the vulnerability of human, ecological, and economic systems. Despite the ability of climate models to simulate LCC impacts, considerable uncertainties remain, particularly in simulations of precipitation and temperature responses. This study provides the first multidisciplinary systematic review of LCC impacts in West Africa. Data from 26 selected publications were eventually synthesized from an initial pool of nearly 6000 studies. Results indicate that deforestation generally contributes to regional warming, with significant historical temperature increases of +0.26 ± 0.12 °C and projected increases of +0.88 ± 0.25 °C under the future scenarios. Conversely, afforestation could have significantly cooled the climate, lowering temperatures by −0.24 ± 0.14 °C historically and −0.22 ± 0.14 °C in future scenarios, without even accounting for carbon sequestration. Deforestation decreases regional precipitation by 80 ± 58 mm yr−1 historically and −55 ± 102 mm yr−1 in future scenarios, while large-scale afforestation could substantially reduce droughts with increased precipitation, averaging +40 ± 67 mm yr−1 historically and 80 ± 58 mm yr−1 in future scenarios. These results emphasize the need to integrate LCC-induced climate effects into land-based mitigation strategies, climate policy, and assessment frameworks.

Methane (CH4) is a major and potent greenhouse gas (GHG), and its emissions from agricultural activities, particularly rice cultivation, are a significant concern for climate change. Due to the high demand for food security, driven by rapid population growth and national initiatives to reduce dependency on rice imports, rice cultivation is intensified in West Africa. However, its contribution to atmospheric CH4 remains largely unknown. Here, for the first time, cutting-edge eddy covariance tower measurements were conducted parallelly in a rice field (Janga) and a reserve forest (Mole National Park), both located in the Guinea savanna region of West Africa. Using CH4 measurement data from June to October 2023 (rice cultivation period), the dynamic interplay between methane emissions from rice cultivation and its potential mitigation through forest methane uptake was assessed. Our results show that the rice field acted as a net source of CH4 at a rate of 2037 mgCH4m−2, whereas the most intense flooded period (August) accounted for 70% of the total emissions. On the other hand, the forest reserve acted as a sink, with a net uptake of −560 mgCH4m−2, and the highest uptake observed in October. Accounting for the global warming potential (GWP) of CH4 over a 20 year period, the forest had a wet season negative GWP of −47.04 gCO2eq, while the rice field emitted CH4 of 171.36 gCO2eq. This implies that under similar conditions during the measurement campaigns, the forest per square area needs approximately a factor of ∼4 to balance the positive radiative effect per square area of rice cultivated. This work emphasizes the need to integrate forests to compensate for methane released by rice cultivation in the semi-arid West African savannah region.

COVID-19, caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a very contagious disease that has killed many people worldwide. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the spread of the disease appears to be slower in Africa. Although several studies have been published on the relationship between meteorological parameters and COVID-19 transmission, the effects of climate conditions on COVID-19 remain largely unexplored and without consensus. However, the transmission of COVID-19 and sensitivity to climate conditions are also not fully understood in Africa. Here, using available epidemiological data over 275 days (i.e., from 1 March to 30 November 2020) taken from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control of the European Union database and daily data of surface air temperature specific humidity and water vapor from the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), this paper investigates the potential contribution of climate conditions on COVID-19 transmission over 16 selected countries throughout three climatic regions of Africa (i.e., Sahel, Maghreb, and Gulf of Guinea). The results highlight statistically significant inverse correlations between COVID-19 cases and temperature over the Maghreb and the Gulf of Guinea regions. In contrast, positive correlations are found over the Sahel area, especially in the central part, including Niger and Mali. Correlations with specific humidity and water vapor parameters display significant and positive values over the Sahelian and the Gulf of Guinea countries and negative values over the Maghreb countries. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic transmission is influenced differently across the three climatic regions: (i) cold and dry environmental conditions over the Maghreb; (ii) warm and humid conditions over the Sahel; and (iii) cold and humid conditions over the Gulf of Guinea. In addition, for all three climatic regions, even though the climate impact has been found to be significant, its effect appears to display a secondary role based on the explanatory power variance compared to non-climatic factors assumed to be dominated by socio-economic factors and early strong public health measures.

Land‐based mitigation strategies, such as afforestation and avoided deforestation, are critical to achieving the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C or 2°C. However, the biophysical impacts of anthropogenic land use and land cover change (LULCC), particularly deforestation and afforestation, on extreme weather events in West Africa remain poorly understood at the regional scale. In this study, we present the first high‐resolution LULCC experiments (at 3 km resolution, covering 2012–2022) using the advanced fully coupled atmosphere‐hydrology WRF‐Hydro model system to assess the potential impacts of idealized land use and land management scenarios on extreme events in the West African savannah region. By analyzing 18 extreme weather indices, we show that deforestation significantly affects temperature extremes (up to 0.45 ± 0.04°C), with effects on regional rainfall extremes being approximately twice as pronounced as those on mean rainfall conditions, along with a significant increase in the number of dry days. Conversely, afforestation generally leads to increases in both mean and extreme precipitation, along with fewer dry days and shorter drought durations. Notably, afforestation produces contrasting responses in temperature extremes depending on vegetation type: converting grassland to mixed or evergreen forest reduces extreme heat via increased transpiration, while conversion to savanna or woody savanna may intensify heat extremes due to albedo‐induced warming effects. Plain Language Summary West Africa is currently experiencing extensive agricultural intensification associated with rapid population growth. Those anthropogenic land use and land‐cover changes (LULCC) can have significant impacts on regional climate but also on extreme weather events, posing high vulnerability to human, natural, and economic systems. However, the effects of LULCC (including deforestation and afforestation) on extreme events in West Africa remain largely unexplored at the regional scale, lacking consensus. This study employs high‐resolution LULCC simulations (3 km resolution, 2012–2022) using an advanced coupled atmosphere‐hydrology model to evaluate the impacts of land cover transition scenarios on extreme events in the West African Savanna. The results indicate that deforestation significantly influences temperature extremes, while it consistently affects regional rainfall extremes—about twice as much as mean rainfall changes—and substantially increases the number of dry days. Conversely, afforestation scenarios generally lead to increases in both mean and extreme precipitation, fewer dry days, and shorter drought durations. Notably, afforestation with mixed or evergreen forests mitigates extreme heat through enhanced plant transpiration. However, certain forest types, such as woody savanna or savanna, can exacerbate heat extremes due to albedo‐induced warming effects. Key Points Deforestation of the West African savanna region significantly intensifies temperature extremes (up to 0.45 ± 0.04°C) and increases drought lengths Afforestation with mixed or evergreen forests mitigates extreme heat, while woody savanna or savanna may worsen it due to albedo induced warming effects Afforestation leads to increased mean and extreme precipitation, more frequent wet days, and shorter drought durations

Land Use Land-Cover Change (LULCC), such as deforestation, affects the climate system and land-atmosphere interactions. Using simulations carried out within the LUCID (Land Use and Climate, IDentification of robust Impacts) project framework, we first quantify the role of historical land-cover change induced by human activities on surface climate in West Africa. Focusing on two contrasted African regions, we find that climate responses of land-use changes are small but they are still statistically significant. In Western Sahel, a statistically significant near-surface atmospheric cooling and a decrease in water recycling are simulated in summer in response to LULCC. Over the Guinean zone, models simulate a significant decrease in precipitation and water recycling in autumn in response to LULCC. This signal is comparable in magnitude with the effect induced by the increase in greenhouse gases. Simulated climate changes due to historical LULCC could however be underestimated because: (i) the prescribed LULCC can be underestimated in those regions; (ii) the climate models underestimate the coupling strength between West African surface climate and leaf area index (LAI) and (iii) the lack of interactive LAI in some models. Finally, our study reveals indirect atmospheric processes triggered by LULCC. Over the Western Sahel, models reveal that a significant decrease in solar reflection tend to cool down the surface and thus counteract the atmospheric feedback. Conversely, over the Guinea zone, models reveal that the indirect atmospheric processes and turbulent heat fluxes dominate the climatic responses over the direct effects of LULCC.

Functional Health Information Systems are critical to provide decision-makers with reliable and quality data for real-time adaptation of the health system. The District Health Information System (DHIS) 2, the world’s largest Health Information Management System (HMIS), facilitates routine health data collection and reporting in many countries globally through its flexible digital platform. In a majority of low and middle income countries (LMICs), there is usually a good availability of indicators on communicable diseases, and maternal and child health. However, although LMICs now face a rapid epidemiological transition with the growing burden of cardiovascular diseases, their HMIS have generally not been adapted to systematically integrate quality data on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) which is essential to quality of care and to assess health systems performance along the chronic disease continuum of care. Here we describe the steps that Senegal took to develop and implement a systematic data collection system for hypertension data using DHIS2. We draw important lessons on opportunities and challenges for integration of NCD data into HMIS and discuss future perspectives for the continued improvement and sustainability of cardiovascular population health data management.

Selon le president de la Chambre de commerce, d'industrie et d'agriculture de Kaolack (Cciak), Serigne Mboup, rien qu'en 1922, pas moins de 1 657 pavillons ont amarre dans les eaux du port pour l'exportation de marchandises vers l'ancienne metropole et sur le continent africain. A cet effet, plus de 60 millions de francs Cfa ont ete mobilises par la Cciak pour la rehabilitation des terres pleines, des magasins, des hangars pour stocker des produits agricoles, l'acquisition d'un nouveau pont-bascule, d'un pont electronique d'une capacite de 100 tonnes, etc. Alors qu'un container en provenance de Dakar via la route revient au proprietaire à 246 000 francs Cfa, il est transporte à 90 000 par voie maritime, informe M. Thiam. La conviction du president du Conseil departemental de Kaolack est que la rehabilitation du port maritime va creer, incontestablement, une « vitalite economique ». Le secretaire general de la Chambre consulaire appelle, quant à lui, les autorites, les fils de Kaolack et les bonnes volontes pour reflechir ensemble sur les pistes de rehabilitation de cette infrastructure qui permettra de fouetter, à jamais, l'economie locale. © 2017 AllAfrica Global Media.

Le Bureau du Haut representant pour les pays les moins avances, les pays en developpement sans littoral et les petits Etats insulaires en developpement (Un-Ohrlls) a, organise, hier, un atelier regional des pays africains sur l'acceleration de la mise en oeuvre du plan d'actions d'Istanbul dans le contexte de l'agenda 2030. Ce sont là, entre autres questions, celles que se propose de resoudre la reunion regionale des pays africains membres du groupe des pays les...