Climate Change and future impact on Freetown

We can no longer deny the impact global warming and climate change on the well-being of humanity. Even where the causes of climate change and global warming have become the subject of much scientific and political controversy, the fact is that during the past few years, one annual heat record after the other has been broken and there seems to be no relief in sight.

Last year, heat waves in Africa, America, Europe and Asia led to scores of deaths in many countries. Flooding in Pakistan and Nigeria buried whole regions of these countries under water. Persistent drought in the USA brought the great Mississippi to historically low levels. People in areas in the Horn of Africa are once again faced with the threat of massive starvation.

From Africa to America, Europe to Asia and even in the arctic regions, drought, wildfires and floods are becoming a disturbing common occurrence. Persistent heat and the lack of rainfall in many areas have reduced the water level and surface areas of many rivers and major lakes around the world. In coastal areas, the heat is bringing rising sea levels, accelerated by the melting of the polar ice caps.  In other areas protracted periods of drought is being experienced.

Last year in the United States of America, the Great salt lake in Utah was reduced to a mere 950 sq miles from its original size 3300 sq miles. In context the lake was 29% of its original size!. The Salton Sea lake in California was reduced from an area of 363 sq miles to 321 sq miles in 2022. 

Great Salt Lake.  ( Pixabay)

October 2022 drought conditions in the regions bordering the Mississippi reduced the depth of the fourth longest river in the world to historically low levels.

Lake Mead, the biggest artificial reservoir in the United States provides water to millions of people living in Arizona, Nevada and California. Lake Mead receives water from the Colorado River which for the past decade has been experiencing drought. Last year Lake Mead lost 30% of its volume.

In April 2022 temperatures in Antarctica and the Arctic were 47°C  and 30°C above normal respectively. Melting of the polar ice caps, releasing huge volumes of water into the oceans portends serious challenges for coastal cities in the near future.

Many of the capital and  primary commercial cities in West Africa grew from coastal settlements. 

Freetown in Sierra Leone, Monrovia in Liberia, Abidjan in Côte D'Ivoire, Banjul in the Gambia, Dakar in Senegal, Conakry in Guinea, to name but a few, are all coastal cities bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Most of these cities developed around trade between these countries and Europe. Today, many of these cities are facing existential crises due to rising sea levels.

Freetown, Sierra Leone  (Sheku Sheriff)

A 2019 World Bank report estimated that about 56% of the coastlines in Benin, Cote D'ivoire, and Senegal were eroding, with the situation only expected to worsen in the future. Much of the erosion was attributed to the direct result of rising sea levels.  In many areas, salt water intrusion was contaminating inland rivers people relied upon on for drinking.

In Sierra Leone, from Freetown to Kailahun, climate change is gradually changing the geography of many areas of the country. Areas that were once known for lush vegetation are now resembling the borders of the Sahel, with trees replaced by shrubs and elephant grass.

According to a report by Abdul Brima, the West African Regional Editor for China Dialogue, the rising sea levels around Sierra Leone was leading to the loss of entire communities in the country, including some culturally significant sites. He states that people were being forced to relocate and many were losing their livelihoods. In Sierra Leone, the harvesting of mangrove for firewood, unregulated sand mining and coastal urbanization was accelerating the reclamation of areas that were once habitable by the sea.

Last year, I took a trip to Sierra Leone, to my hometown Segbwema. Growing up in the 80s in Segbwema, the river Nyeya ran through the town, roughly dividing it into two almost equal halves The river was the main source of drinking water for half the inhabitants of the town. On my visit last year, the river was gone, replaced by a small stream surrounded by dry swampland. It was such a pitiful sight, as many of our youthful memories were tied to adventures along the banks of that river.

In Minnesota USA, even though 2023 saw record amount of snow fall, the winters have been getting warmer over the past decade.

Mild winters may pose a greater danger to the world than many people imagine. This is because cold winters do help to keep the polar ice caps intact. However, mild winters may not allow the previous year's melt to freeze, accelerating rising sea levels.

In Freetown, Sierra Leone, many coastal regions like Kru Bay, Black Johnson Beach, John Obey Beach, to name but a few, are low lying coastal settlements. If current temperature trends continue, the Sierra Leone authorities need to have a serious dialogue with the inhabitants of these settlements with a strong emphasis on relocation.

In Sierra Leone, both the people and successive governments tend to be reactive. During the present decade in Sierra Leone, flooding and mudslides have already claimed hundreds of lives in Freetown. If global warming persists, these incidents are bound to occur with increasing frequency.

In a recent session with a very important political figure, the question was asked as to whether there was any plan to convince the people living in the at-risk coastal slum areas of Freetown to either move, or whether there was any plan for their relocation. The answer was that the people around these areas were very stubborn and will defy any ordered relocation. 

However, if the current trends continue however, the Sierra Leone government may either have to force the evacuation of these areas, or risk significant loss of lives in these areas. 

Most of the people in these settlements are blissfully unaware of the threats to their existence of rising sea levels and all major political entities in the country have to be engaged in plans to deal with the potential menace.

As most actions in Sierra Leone are viewed through political lenses, many of the major political players in the country have to be convinced of the seriousness of the threat for people to take the risks of rising sea levels seriously.  However, this is going to be difficult, as Sierra Leone politicians are committed to scoring points against one another and would rather blame to the other for a tragedy than dialogue to prevent one.

Tackling the impact of rising sea levels may be difficult without significant international support, but if no action is taken now, the future of the people living along the coastal low lying areas of Freetown and other coastal settlement will be very challenging. Lives are at risk.