Thousands of high temperature records broken across Africa

A wave of exceptionally hot weather has led to the shattering of thousands of temperature records across Africa on March 11, 2024. Nations from Cameroon to Mauritius have experienced unprecedented heat, marking historic highs for the month of March.

“Records were smashed in nearly every single country from north to south and west to east,” climatologist and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera reported. “Never happened anything like this anywhere in the world in climatic history,” Herrera added.

According to Herrera, this is the most extraordinary event in climatic history. “What’s happening today will be remembered for generations. Thousands of records are been brutalized all over Africa from North to South in an area of millions of square kilometers. No event in world climatic history gets even close.”

In Cameroon, Garoua recorded a staggering 45.5 °C (113.9 °F), setting a new national record for the hottest March day. Similarly, Ghana’s Navrongo reached 43.8 °C (110.84 °F), also marking a national record for March.

Niger saw its monthly records broken at almost all monitoring stations, with temperatures soaring to 45 °C (113 °F) in Tillabery, 44.5 °C (112.1 °F) in Birni N Konni, 44 °C (111.2 °F) in Dosso, and 43.4 °C (110.12 °F) in Magaria.

Burkina Faso recorded monthly highs across the board, with Ouagadougou hitting 44.1 °C (111.38 °F), both Boromo and Fada Ngourma at 43.7 °C (110.66 °F), Ouahigouya reaching 43.2 °C (109.76 °F), and Po at 42.8 °C (109.04 °F).

Mali reported its hottest day in history with Bougouni reaching 44 °C (111.2 °F), and Comoros also recorded its hottest day ever at 36.1 °C (96.98 °F). Mauritius saw a March record with 35.1 °C (95.18 °F) registered on Agelaga Island, and Ascension Island experienced its hottest night in history with a minimum temperature of 27.5 °C (81.5 °F).

Hundreds of records were also broken all over South Africa, Namibia, Zamia, and Botswana, Herrera reported.

Featured image credit: GFS, Zoom Earth. Temperatures at 13:00 UTC on March 11, 2024