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The Effects of Climate Change on Urban Human Settlements in Africa

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Climate Change and Sustainable Urban Development in Africa and Asia

Abstract

A common understanding of climate change is any long-term and significant change in the “average weather” that a given region experiences. Average weather may include average temperature, precipitation and wind patterns. It involves changes in the variability or average state of the atmosphere over durations, ranging from decades to millions of years. These changes can be caused by a dynamic process on earth, external forces including variations in sunlight intensity, and more recently by human activities. The main human influence on global climate is emissions of the key greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide. Human activities, such as fossil fuel burning and deforestation, produce greenhouse gases that trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere. It is predicted that the continuation of these activities will result in a 1.8–4°C average temperature increase over the next century (IPCC 2007a).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Architeture and Planning, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana

    Aloysius Clemence Mosha

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  1. Aloysius Clemence Mosha
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Correspondence to Aloysius Clemence Mosha .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Singapore Institute of Planners, Singapore, Singapore

    Belinda Yuen

  2. UNCRD Africa Office, UN Girigiri, Block A 121, Nairobi, 12345, Kenya

    Asfaw Kumssa

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Mosha, A.C. (2011). The Effects of Climate Change on Urban Human Settlements in Africa. In: Yuen, B., Kumssa, A. (eds) Climate Change and Sustainable Urban Development in Africa and Asia. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9867-2_5

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