Environment

Deforestation Is Flooding West African Coasts

Deforestation in Africa is occurring at about twice the world rate, with the continent as a whole losing about 4 million hectares every year. The loss of tree cover along Africa’s southwestern coast in particular has increased, mostly because of agricultural land use, urbanization, and conflict.

In the Amazon, which is also experiencing tree loss in a tropical environment, evidence indicates that deforestation contributes to a decrease in precipitation.

Coastal countries of southwestern Africa are experiencing the opposite effect. The frequency of storms in deforested areas in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone has doubled since 1991. Forested areas in these countries have also experienced an increase in storms, but only by about 40%.

As trees have a cooling effect in the atmosphere, deforestation creates a warm area that draws in sea breezes from the ocean during the daytime, producing moisture. And there’s only one way for that moisture that gathers in the air to go. It has to go up, creating a perfect environment to trigger storms.

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