Editor’s Note: Every Friday, Andrew Green curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent.
Flash floods and landslides are devastating East Africa, just a month after severe rains flooded countries in the center of the continent. To the south, Zimbabwe and Zambia are in the midst of droughts that have slowed Victoria Falls to a trickle, even as heavy rains batter South Africa and submerge entire neighborhoods.
With global leaders gathered in Madrid this week for COP25, this year’s annual U.N. climate summit, the severe weather events across Africa underscore the impact that climate change is having on the continent—even as governments seem hamstrung to help communities adapt to or prevent future catastrophes.