Vanishing glaciers to have ‘manifold impact in Africa’

The disappearance of Africa’s last glaciers is bound to have manifold impact on indigenous people living in mountainous areas, according to a scholar who has been researching Kilimanjaro’s glacier for more than 20 years.

It follows a UN report that says glaciers in Kilimanjaro national park, Mount Kenya national park, Rwenzori mountains national park and Virunga national park will melt by 2050 due to climate change.

The glaciers will disappear regardless of the world’s actions to combat climate change, the authors of the report say.

“We can already see declining of crop yields, longer drought periods – which would impact hydropower generation and the risk of tropical diseases like malaria in mountainous areas,” said Prof Douglas Hardy from University of Massachusetts Amherst.

“These glaciers have an extremely important cultural and spiritual significance and this means the way local communities live will be impacted in the near future.”

BBC Africa