AU Sounds Alarm Over El Niño 2026/2027, Mobilises Africa for Climate Emergency Response

By Iyojo Ameh

The African Union (AU) has launched a continent-wide preparedness campaign against the looming threat of El Niño in 2026/2027, warning that delayed action could deepen food insecurity, water stress, humanitarian crises, and economic disruptions across Africa.

The warning was issued as the AU Commission, in partnership with the Government of Zambia and the African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD), opened the 21st African Continental Climate Outlook Forum (ACCOF-21) and the Continental Dialogue on Climate-Sector Nexus in Lusaka.

The high-level gathering brings together climate scientists, policymakers, regional economic communities, national meteorological agencies, disaster management authorities, humanitarian organisations, and sector specialists to design a coordinated continental response to possible El Niño-induced climate shocks.

With the theme, “Preparing Africa for El Niño 2026/2027: Strengthening Readiness to Anticipate and Manage Climate Shocks,” the forum seeks to reposition Africa’s climate strategy from emergency response to early action and prevention.

Climate experts at the meeting warned that the anticipated El Niño event could intensify existing challenges across the continent, including prolonged droughts, devastating floods, declining agricultural output, water shortages, disease outbreaks, and disruptions to energy systems.

Representing Zambia’s Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment, Ranford Simumbwe said the effectiveness of climate forecasts depends on their ability to guide real-time decisions and protect communities.

“Climate information only creates value when it is translated into action,” Simumbwe said, urging stronger collaboration between climate scientists, policymakers, and communities that depend on accurate forecasts.

ACMAD Director General, Dr. Ousmane Ndiaye, said Africa must prepare before the impacts of El Niño emerge, stressing that waiting until disasters occur would put millions of lives and livelihoods at risk.

“With the looming El Niño 2026/2027 and its potential impacts across Africa, we cannot afford to wait before acting,” Ndiaye said.

He said the Lusaka forum provides an opportunity to strengthen early warning systems, improve climate information sharing, and ensure forecasts are converted into practical measures for communities and governments.

The AU Commission stressed that climate shocks require a unified continental response because their consequences extend beyond national borders.

Harsen Nyambe Nyambe, Director of Sustainable Environment and Blue Economy, representing the AU Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, said Africa must embrace collective and preventive solutions.

“Climate shocks do not respect borders, sectors, or communities. Our response must therefore be collective, coordinated, and proactive,” Nyambe said.

The forum is expected to produce strategies for improving climate outlooks, strengthening early warning communication, and enhancing preparedness in critical areas such as agriculture, food security, water management, health, disaster risk reduction, and humanitarian response.

Participants noted that previous El Niño events exposed Africa’s vulnerability, with millions affected by climate extremes that disrupted livelihoods, particularly among smallholder farmers, pastoralists, women, children, and coastal communities.

Dr. Agnes Kijazi, Director of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) Regional Office for Africa, said the increasing likelihood of El Niño conditions persisting into 2026–2027 underscores the urgency for governments to adopt climate-informed planning.

She called for stronger anticipatory action to ensure that scientific warnings translate into early interventions before communities face severe consequences.

The Lusaka dialogue is also expected to strengthen cooperation between producers and users of climate information through Continental Climate Sector Working Groups and User Interface Platforms.

Organisers said the goal is to bridge the gap between climate science and decision-making by providing governments and communities with timely, accessible, and practical climate guidance.

The meeting, supported through the African Union’s Climate Services (ClimSA) Programme with backing from the European Union, will conclude on June 19, 2026, with recommendations expected to guide Africa’s preparedness efforts ahead of possible El Niño-related disruptions.

The €22 million ClimSA initiative is designed to strengthen climate services across Africa, supporting sectors including agriculture, health, energy, water resources management, and disaster risk reduction.