The Muslim pilgrimage or Hajj, which is one of the five pillars of Muslim faith, takes place outdoors in and surrounding Mecca in the Saudi Arabian desert. The U.S. National Weather Service defines an extreme danger heat stress threshold which is approximately equivalent to a wet‐bulb temperature of about 29.1 °C—a combined measure of temperature and humidity. Here, based on results of simulations using an ensemble of coupled atmosphere‐ocean global climate models, we project that future climate change with and without mitigation will elevate heat stress to levels that exceed this extreme danger threshold through 2020 and during the periods of 2047 to 2052 and 2079 to 2086, with increasing frequency and intensity as the century progresses. If climate change proceeds on the current trajectory or even on a trajectory with considerable mitigation, aggressive adaptation measures will be required during years of high heat stress risk.

Flooding is one of Africa’s most impactful natural disasters, significantly affecting human lives, infrastructure, and economies. This study examines the spatial and temporal distribution of historical flood events across the continent from 1927 to 2020, with a focus on fatalities, affected populations, and economic damage. Data from the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT), the fifth generation of bias-corrected European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis (ERA5), and the Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS) observational datasets were used to calculate extreme precipitation indices—Consecutive Wet Days (CWD), annual precipitation on very wet days (R95PTOT), and Annual Maximum Precipitation (AMP). Spatial analysis tools and the Mann–Kendall test were used to assess trends in flood occurrences, while Pearson correlation analysis identified key meteorological drivers across 16 African capital cities for 1981–2019. A flood frequency analysis was conducted using Weibull, Gamma, Lognormal, Gumbel, and Logistic probability distribution models to compute flood return periods for up to 100 years. Results reveal a significant upward trend with a slope above 0.50 floods per year in flood frequency and impact over the period, particularly in regions such as West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana), East Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania), North Africa (Algeria, Morocco), Central Africa (Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo), and Southern Africa (Mozambique, Malawi, South Africa). Positive trends (at 99% significance level with slopes ranging between 0.50 and 0.60 floods per year) were observed in flood-related fatalities, affected populations, and economic damage across Regional Economic Communities (RECs), individual countries, and cities of Africa. The CWD, R95PTOT, and AMP indices emerged as reliable predictors of flood events, while non-stationary return periods exhibited low uncertainties for events within 20 years. These findings underscore the urgency of implementing robust flood disaster management strategies, enhancing flood forecasting systems, and designing resilient infrastructure to mitigate growing flood risks in Africa’s rapidly changing climate.

Given the recent increase in geopolitical tensions between major agricultural producers and weather extremes, there is a likelihood that geopolitical conflict will occur simultaneously with weather extremes, leading to devastating production losses between the conflicting parties. These losses can affect the entire food supply chain, leading to food shortages and price increases in regional markets. This paper models the impact of these concurrent events on the global food market, using the Russian-Ukrainian war and the extreme heatwaves of summer 2022 as a case study. The model considers four war scenarios: the start of the invasion, the peak of the war, Ukraine’s resistance, sanctions against Russia, and refugee crises in Europe. Using data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Statista, WITS, and Acclimate production value losses, the results show that the agricultural sectors of southern European countries such as France, Italy, and Spain were the most affected by the extreme events, although the direct impact of refugees was smaller compared to their northern counterparts. Strict sanctions against Russia coupled with Ukraine’s resistance will benefit EU food markets, but at the same time the agricultural sectors of smaller countries and weaker economies, particularly those of Russia’s allies, will be highly vulnerable. This study suggests that when developing and adopting conflict resolution strategies, their impact on weak economies should not be overlooked. An example of this policy recommendation is the continuous renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative to stabilize global food prices.

Agriculture is the traditional and leading field of economy of Tetritskaro Municipality, but faces the challenge of changing climate. The study investigates male and female farmers’ perception of climate change issues in Tetritskaro, their main source of information, adaptation measures choosen and their needs. Climate change data available in Tetritskaro focused on characteristic extreme weather events coupled with face-to-face interviews from 254 farmers (male - 53%, female - 47%) was analyzed. The study revealed that men and women have more or less similar perceptions of climate change issues. For male farmers, the main source of information on climate, seasonal prediction and weather forecast is conversations with fellow farmers, and for female farmers it is indigenous knowledge of the local environment. Male and female farmers, have adapted to the changes in climate similarly applying measures such as pesticides, fertilizer and irrigation, early sowing, and earlier harvest, while the exchange of information between fellow farmers, use of various hail protection products and crop diversification techniques is more frequent among male farmers. Farmers expressed the need for low interest loans to purchase agricultural products, equipment and restore/create windbreak zones. Most of the male farmers indicate the need for introduction new technologies, while female farmers are more in need of information and training in agricultural activities. The study shows the need for development of climate change adaptation policies and interventions in Tetritskaro. Obtained results can be used not only in other agricultural regions of Georgia, but in other countries with the same problems.