Hot weather increases civil strife in Africa
New research from the US shows that climate is a major driver of armed conflict in Africa and no doubt global warming is likely to aggravate this. While informed opinion has it that suicides increase dramatically in mid-summer in hot places such as Darwin in Australia, it seems that in Africa, conflict is about 50% more likely in unusually warm years. This comes from the US National Academy of Sciences, so is not just hearsay. It suggests strife arises when food supply is scarce in warm conditions. Earlier research has shown an association between drought and conflict, but this is thought to be the first clear evidence of a temperature link. The researchers correlated temperatures across sub-Saharan Africa between 1981 and 2002, and found above-average heat and civil conflict combined in a deadly way. Read more: BBC, Science Daily
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