Irish aid worker in climate warning

AN IRISH aid worker living in Malawi has said climate change is posing an ‘existential threat’ that could leave parts of the country uninhabitable if temperatures keep rising.

Conor Kelly, who is from Clane in Co. Kildare, has lived in the landlocked country in the southeast of Africa with his family for the past few years.

As the small, poor country grapples with an increase in major disaster events such as cyclones and flooding, Mr Kelly said there was a need for more empathy towards people vulnerable to climate challenges.

‘Cyclone Idai happened in 2019,’ the programmes manager in Malawi for Irish charity Trócaire said of the second-deadliest tropical cyclone to hit the southern hemisphere.

‘Climate change is affecting Malawi,’ he said. ‘They are one of the top 10 countries who have been affected by climate change and that will continue to get worse unless action is taken.’

Around three-quarters of Malawi’s population of 21 million rely on agriculture, meaning if crops fail, people go hungry. Over four million people are food-insecure in Malawi, according to its government – and this could soon double to eight million.

Mr Kelly said some climate changerelated events in Europe, such as the 2021 floods in Germany and forest fires in Portugal last year, have ‘helped to turn the needle’ on how climate change is viewed in the global north.

He added: ‘If there was one million people food-insecure in Ireland, you’d see a lot of action being taken then.’

Changing weather patterns have made it difficult for Malawian farmers, who mostly grow the food that they eat, to know when to farm.

Last year, Cyclone Freddy flooded the south of the country and a drought hit the north. But this year, the south had dry spells in February at a crucial time during the rainy season. ‘Before, times were tough but at least you knew when the rains would start,’ Mr Kelly said.