New Delhi, July 10 -- Africa is facing its deadliest climate crisis in over a decade, with the period between 2021 and 2025 emerging as the most devastating five-year stretch in terms of human toll from weather, climate and water-related disasters.

An analysis by Down To Earth (DTE), based on publicly available data from the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) international disaster database, shows that at least 221.57 million people were affected during this five-year period, more than the combined totals from 2011-2015 and 2016-2020. Disaster-related deaths rose to 28,759, over three times the number recorded between 2016 and 2020. These figures, based on data available up to May 2025, are likely to rise further by year-end.

The contin...