The last three mountain glaciers in Africa are receding so much that they may disappear in the next 20 years, according to a recent United Nations report that outlines the many issues facing the continent due to global warming.

Ahead of the United Nations' climate change conference on Oct. 31, the World Meteorological Organization released a report on the state of Africa's climate in 2020, detailing how much the continent's estimated 1.3 billion people will be affected in the coming years.

The three mountain glaciers remaining — Mount Kenya in Kenya, the Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda and the famous Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania — aren't big enough to provide water resources, but have become tourist attractions. Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, is one of the most popular climbs in the world.

However, the glaciers on the mountains are receding higher than the global average. If they continue to do so, they will be completely gone by the 2040s, the report says. Mount Kenya is on pace to deglaciate by 2030, which would make it "one of the first entire mountain ranges to lose glaciers due to human-induced climate change," according to the report.

In this Monday, Dec. 17, 2012 file photo, A herd of adult and baby elephants walks in the dawn light in 2012 as the highest …  

BEN CURTIS, AP

Petteri Taalas, secretary-general for the WMO, said in a statement the eventual loss of the glaciers, "signals the threat of imminent and irreversible change to the Earth system." 

Deglaciation is just one of many climate issues facing the continent, the report shows. Over 15 countries reported deaths or significant displacement of populations due to excessive flooding. In addition, droughts and dry conditions prevailed in northwest and southeastern parts of Africa, so much so that the country of Madagascar is experiencing a humanitarian crisis.

Temperatures in the past 30 years also increased faster than the global average, with 2020 being one of the continent's hottest years on record. In addition, sea levels rose up to 4.1 millimeters a year along the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean coasts. 

A drought or flood can result in food insecurity increasing by 5-20% in certain sub-Saharan African populations.

Worldwide, 12% of recent displacement of human population occurred in East Africa, resulting in over one million displacements. 

If the trends continue and action is not taken, the report states up to 118 million people who live on less than $1.90 a day will be exposed to floods, droughts and extreme heat.

All of the concerning climate change possibilities come as COVID-19 as severely impacted the continent. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Africa has reported more than 6 million COVID-19 cases and 148,000 deaths, according to World Health Organization data. However, a recent report by the WHO states only 14.2% of infections are being detected.

Vaccination rates are also far behind, as just 4.96% of the continent is fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In September, the WHO estimated the continent only had enough vaccines to inoculate just 17% of the population this year, but efforts are being made to send more vaccines to countries.

Taalas said helping the continent overcome COVID-19 is just as important as avoiding climate disasters.

"Along with COVID-19 recovery, enhancing climate resilience is an urgent and continuing need. Investments are particularly needed in capacity development and technology transfer, as well as in enhancing countries’ early warning systems, including weather, water and climate observing systems," he said.

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Natural immunity is good: Getting vaccinated after being sick with COVID-19 is better

 

USA Today

Gunmen stormed a market in Nigeria and opened fire in 'every direction' killing at least 30 on Sunday evening. 

The assault, from a suspected criminal gang, started during a weekly market in Goronyo, northern Nigeria, Sokoto Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said in a statement.

Gunmen surrounded and entered the market while it was full of shoppers and traders on Sunday evening before opening fire 'sporadically' on onlookers, spraying the crowd with bullets, witnesses said.  

A regional government spokesperson said the death toll was not yet confirmed but was believed to be '30 something'. However, a local resident said there at least 60 bodies at Goronyo General Hospital mortuary.

Heavily armed gangs known locally as bandits have terrorised northwest and central Nigeria for years, raiding and looting villages, but attacks have become even more violent in recent months. 

The gangs have no known ideological agenda but operate in an area where concerns are growing of jihadist inroads. 

'We're not sure of the [death toll] figure. But it is 30 something,' Sokoto's government spokesman Muhammad Bello said in a statement.

'It was a market day and there were many traders,' Bello told AFP by phone. 

But Iliyasu Abba, a local resident and trader, told Reuters that there were 60 bodies at Goronyo General Hospital mortuary, while others sustained injuries while escaping.

'The gunmen stormed the market as it was crowded with shoppers and traders,' he said.

The men were 'shooting sporadically on us after they surrounded the market firing at every direction killing people.'

 

A regional government spokesperson said the death toll was not yet confirmed but was believed to be '30 something' 

Abba said the gunmen had at least initially overpowered police who tried to intervene.

Police spokesman Sanusi Abubakar also confirmed that bandits attacked Goronyo late on Sunday, but did not comment on claims gunmen overpowered officers. 

'Our sercurity operatives are there to conduct investigations,' Abubakar said, without giving details. 

Phone networks in the area have been suspended for weeks to disrupt the gangs' operations, making information-gathering tricky.

A gang raided another village market on October 8, in Sabon Birni district near the border with Niger, killing 19 people.

Since last month, Nigerian troops have been conducting air and ground operations on bandit camps in neighbouring Zamfara state.

The government ordered shut all telephone and internet services in the whole of Zamfara state in early September, a blackout later extended to parts of Katsina, Sokoto and Kaduna states as military operations intensified.  

 

The government ordered shut all telephone and internet services in the whole of Zamfara state in early September, a blackout later extended to parts of Katsina, Sokoto and Kaduna states as military operations intensified (pictured, soldiers near the Chad-Nigeria border)

Officials in Sokoto are worried that bandits are relocating to the state as a result of operations in Zamfara.

'We're faced and bedevilled by many security challenges in our own area here, particularly banditry, kidnapping and other associated crimes,' wrote Bello, on behalf of the state governor.

Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, he said, had requested 'the presence of more forces in the state and the deployment of more resources'.

Last month 17 Nigerian security personnel were killed when gunmen attacked their base in Sabon Birni, an assault the military blamed on Islamic State-aligned jihadists. 

 

Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, he said, had requested 'the presence of more forces in the state and the deployment of more resources'

Violence has spiralled in recent months across the northwest, forcing thousands of already vulnerable people to flee their homes in a situation that aid agencies fear risks becoming a humanitarian crisis.

Since January 2020, about 50,000 people fled from their homes in the northwest alone, according to the International Organization for Migration.

And more than 80,000 additional people have fled to neighbouring Niger over the past two years.

Increasingly, bandits have turned to mass kidnapping and have kidnapped hundreds of schoolchildren since December. Most have been freed or released after ransom but dozens are still being held.

The violence is just one challenge facing Nigeria's security forces, who are also battling a 12-year jihadist insurgency in the northeast that has killed more than 40,000 people.  By LAUREN LEWIS FOR MAILONLINE and WIRES, Mail Online