Congo’s century-old records reveal warming trend
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Derrick Muheki, a hydrologist originally from Uganda, and a team of researchers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Belgium recovered and digitised thousands of handwritten climate records from an archive in Yangambi, DRC.
These records, spanning from 1908 to 2023, were created and maintained during the colonial period and after the DRC gained independence in 1960.
The archive, now part of the National Institute of Agronomic Studies and Research (INERA), held detailed daily meteorological data from 37 weather stations across the country, but lacked the resources for preservation and access. Muheki’s team used a tool called MeteoSaver to transcribe the fragile paper records, which were vulnerable to moisture, insects, and even fire.
They found that the Congo Basin has experienced warming consistent with global trends, with hot days becoming more frequent and cold days becoming less common. Between 1961 and 1990, average temperatures in the DRC increased by 0.5°C, and maximum temperatures rose by 0.7°C, with those trends continuing into the 21st century. The researchers emphasize the importance of rescuing climate data from regions with limited resources, like Central Africa, to better understand and project future climate change.
Access to these historical records will help improve climate models and support adaptation efforts in a region already experiencing the effects of a changing climate.
