A landlocked country already impacted by climate change
Malawi is a landlocked country in southern Africa, covering a total area of 118,484 square kilometres. Of this, 80% is land, while the remaining 20%) is taken up by the vast Lake Malawi. Malawi is divided into three main regions: Northern, Central, and Southern regions, each with distinct geographical and cultural characteristics.
Malawi experiences cool-dry season from May to October and the hot-wet season from November to April. The country generally receives sufficient rainfall, but with uneven and unpredictable distribution due to local environmental factors, climate variability, and overall climate change. This inconsistency leads to extreme weather events like floods and droughts that impact various regions differently. These extreme weather conditions negatively affect food security, water resources, energy supply, infrastructure, public health, and the livelihoods of families.
Malawi’s latest national inventory data estimate total greenhouse (GHG) emissions excluding forestry and other land use (FOLU) at 9.33 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) for 2017. Agriculture accounted for by far the largest share of the total (54%), followed by energy (25%) and waste (18%). Emissions from industrial processes represented just around 3% of total emissions in 2017.
