A multinational research consortium of British, French and West African institutes and scientists, funded by the UK government, has ascertained that “megastorms” in West Africa occur three times more frequently today than they did 35 years ago. The results of the research are being applied to determine the areas of Burkina Faso and Senegal that are most likely to suffer from these storms. They are also being used to design systems to provide early storm warnings, as well as storm-resistant infrastructure, with the aim of protecting roads, hospitals, school, and homes, enabling rapid emergency responses to avert death and destruction.

One such megastorm can generate the same amount of energy in 12 hours as the energy consumed in an entire year by the whole of the UK – nearly six-billion gigajoules. Such storms can reach up to 16 km in the sky and move across about 1 000 km at a speed 60 km/h, and can cover an area greater than that of England (130 000 km2). Capable of uprooting trees and causing death and injury to livestock, these storms can release 100 mm of rain in an hour, which is equivalent to two months’ average rainfall in London.

“While it was expected that global warming would produce more intense storms, we were shocked by the speed of the changes taking place in the Sahel region of Africa,” affirmed the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology’s Professor Chris Taylor. (The centre is the lead institution in the research programme.) “Increasingly heavy windfall, combined with rapid urban expansion in the region, indicates that the impacts of flash flooding are likely to become more frequent and severe in the coming years.”

“Unpredictable and devastating weather threatens the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people,” emphasised UK International Development Secretary (Cabinet Minister) Penny Mordaunt. “UK aid is working with British scientists so that we can prevent and react to natural disasters with an agility that saves lives and livelihoods. For every £1 UK aid invests in preventing natural disasters, we can save more than £3 by avoiding the impacts of these extreme weather events.”

The research programme has received £4-million in funding over the past five years, of which 80% was provided by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and 20% by the UK National Environmental Research Council (NERC). In addition to the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the programme included the (UK) National Centre for Earth Observation, the University of Leeds, the Centre National de Recherches Météorologiques, Université Grenoble Alpes, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Université and the (West Africa-based) International Institute for Water and the Environment. This programme forms part of the larger Future Climate for Africa programme, which itself falls under the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis 2050 project. The DFID is also providing £16-million over five years for the Future Climate for Africa programme, with the NERC contributing another £4-million.

Separate, but related, is the DFID’s Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters programme for Burkina Faso. This started in January 2015 and the department has provided £7.3-million over four years to fund a range of projects. These included providing weather-tolerant seeds, soil fertility treatments, “weather-resilient” farming advice and changing farming methods to deal with high temperatures and heavy rains. The aim is to protect food and income sources and the programme is assisting 700 000 people in Burkina Faso.