An escalating climate crisis

[Deeq A.]

In Burundi’s capital, it’s not uncommon to see hippos and crocodiles roaming muddy roads after months of flooding that has driven thousands of people from their homes.

Bujumbura lies on the northeastern shores of Lake Tanganyika, the longest freshwater lake after Baikal in Siberia. The city is bearing the brunt of a climate crisis plaguing the world’s poorest nation, which the World Bank says has lost 5.2% of its arable land area every year since 2020 to soil degradation.

Bujumbura’s flooded Gatumba district. Photographer: Tchandrou Nitanga/AFP/Getty Images

After contending with years of drought, eastern and central Africa has been hit by torrential rains spurred by the El Niño weather phenomenon.

Since the beginning of last month, at least 260 people have been killed in Kenya, 155 in Tanzania and 29 in Burundi — a tiny country of 13 million people with the lowest income per capita.

The deluge is a double hit for the towns and cities around Tanganyika, which straddles four nations, with water levels repeatedly hitting records.

Bujumbura, usually known for its beautiful beaches and verdant hills, has had almost incessant rains since the start of last year that have transformed the landscape. Homes, cars and hospitals have been submerged and abandoned.

The number of people displaced by climate change countrywide has risen by 25% to 96,000 as a result of the recent downpours, according to the United Nations.

Grain shortages have also intensified, swelling the ranks of the 5.4 million Burundians who were classified as food-insecure prior to the latest flooding.

Adequate measures aren’t in place to counter erosion, temperatures are predicted to increase and water levels may rise even further — not just from Tanganyika, but from rivers throughout the region, warns Leonidas Nibigira, general commissioner of Burundi’s Office of Urban Planning.

Source: Bloomberg 

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