Abstract

Our planet is warming up! That doesn’t mean we will have nicer weather, though. It means we have weather events that are more extreme. Floods, droughts, and heatwaves are more powerful and are happening more often. People lose their homes, jobs, and eat less food. And poor people suffer the most! People who are very poor do not have enough resources to handle the effects of extreme weather events. To help them in the future, we need a good understanding of what is happening now. 

We studied one of the poorest regions in the world, sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We analyzed data from thousands of families living all across the continent and looked at what happens to them when extreme weather events occur. We found that floods had a worse impact than heatwaves and droughts. Finally, we predicted that because of climate change, the number of people living in poverty there could increase in 10 years. Our results could be very useful for planning ways to help people in Africa.