Overview of Climate Change in Nigeria
Climate change in Nigeria, causing excessive heatwaves since January 2025, reached a dangerous degree few months ago. Aside urban heat, Nigeria is experiencing flooding in rural regions due to human-induced climate change. Unprecedented changes in climate are constraining food supply and human livelihoods. Climate change is inflicting a long-term problem on water security, public safety and community health.
Latest eco-reports confirmed that climate change is reducing the country's agricultural production and food supply chain. In April 2025, majority of States in Nigeria recorded over 22oC which is very unusual in regions known for timely rainfall. Policymakers view climate change as impediments to survival and sustainability of Nigerian economy. Accordingly, this article examines socioeconomic, environmental and security effect of climate change in Nigeria.
Socioeconomic Context
Climate change in Nigeria cities and towns is constraining trades in goods and services. It is usually difficult for sellers and buyers in Nigeria to do any significant business when the temperature is hot. States such as Kano, Kaduna and Sokoto are experiencing over 32°C for months thereby limiting capabilities of traders, sellers or buyers to stay long in markets in dry regions. In 2024 alone, Nigeria experienced a huge decline in economic yields from crop production and livestock due to inadequate rainfall.
Nigeria’s economy relies on agriculture which is experiencing decline due to ineffective climate change mitigation strategies by governments. Heatwave, caused by climate change, is affecting tourism, social events, and public engagement in major cities of Nigeria. Many Nigerians try to prevent exposure to heatwaves or GHGs owing to their challenges for human health. With heatwave of over 27°C, it is becoming a constraint to transit within major cities of Nigeria without effectively functioning air condition.
With high temperatures, tourists could hardly choose some Northern States as destinations due to high possibility of dehydration. Family visitation can be affected due to inability to travel under severe heatwave or vicious weather condition. Further complicating this problem of climate change are issues relating to health crisis caused by loss of energy. Climate change is negatively affecting cultural and social bonds among families.
Environmental Context
Rising heatwave is causing floods, biodiversity losses, erosion and excessive desertification in diverse regions of Nigeria. Challenge of climate change is culminating into severe drought, famine, and ecological crisis. In April 2025, Nigerian Metrological Agency predicted that Abuja is likely to experience around 32°C temperature. Climate change is precipitating droughts that might affect crop production or livestock business.
With over 27°C temperatures in Northcentral Nigeria, many homes and farms will likely suffer from severe floods or loss of arable land. Moreover, Abuja, Lagos and Ibadan are experiencing high temperature which delicately exposes these cities to heavy downpour. On the other hand, heatwave or high temperatures can instigate dangerous wildlife fire particularly in excessively dry regions.
Wildlife fire is linked, by environmental experts, to harsh weather conditions in dry regions. Climate change is increasingly leading to discharge of greenhouse gasses emissions (GHGs) particularly Carbon Dioxide (CO2) into Nigerian environment. Release of GHGs has implication for environmental degradation in Nigeria which poses constraint to Nigeria’s resilience to climatic challenges. Some ecological analysts argued that climate change is causing air pollution, destabilized ecosystem, and excessive local warming.
Security Context
Climate change is among factors contributing to land grabbing and tribal crisis. This often occurs when the residents in dried land seeks to farm in fertile land of neighbouring communities. Herdsmen-farmer crisis in Yobe, Borno, Jigawa, Jos, and few Northern Nigeria is a strategic effect of climate change. Most of herdsmen often search for food for their cattle elsewhere whenever grasses are dried up in their environment.
Search for cattle foods often lead to wanton destruction of farm land or produce and foster communal crisis. Policy experts in Nigeria linked the challenges of kidnapping, banditry and terrorism to environmental disasters caused by climate change. Mitigation of climatic challenges requires suitably-executed policies directed at mitigation and adaptation. Intensive actions, such as tree planting, afforestation, and irrigation, to address all consequences of climate change in Nigeria.
Policymakers and industry leaders are currently focused on designing models, frameworks or strategies to sufficiently mitigate security consequences of climate change in Nigeria. In fact, insecurity has become a dangerous limitation to national development or economic growth in Nigeria. Climate change contributes to displacement of communities and towns owing to incessant confrontation with cattle herders in villages.
Conclusion
This articled has unveiled how climate change in Nigeria is causing excessive heatwaves and biodiversity depletion with multifaceted consequences. Climate change is a major cause of heatwaves in Nigeria. It is causing flooding, drought, erosion and desertification in diverse regions of the country. Many policy experts conclude that depletion of agriculture, environment and economy is fostered by poor weather. Climate change is causing high temperatures in prominent cities and towns. It has resultant effect on food supply, biodiversity, wildlife conservation and economic prosperity. In conclusion, climate change and its challenges have socioeconomic, security and environmental implications in Nigeria.