Malawi
Malawi is a landlocked country in the southern part of Africa, bordered by Tanzania, Mozambique, and Zambia. The country has a diverse topography, with Lake Malawi, the third-largest lake in Africa, as one of its most significant geographical features. Much of the remaining landscape consists of high, well-watered plateaus interspersed with large hills (World Bank Group, 2021).
The subtropical climate is characterized by two seasons: a rainy season from November to April and dry season from May to October. The country experiences high temperatures and humidity, with variations across regions and seasons. In recent years, however, Malawi has experienced an increase in climate-related hazards, including erratic rainfall, droughts, prolonged dry spells, and strong winds. These changes have affected key sectors of the economy such as agriculture, health, water, energy, transport, education, gender, forestry, wildlife, and infrastructure. Consequently, as the majority of Malawians rely on small-scale, rain-fed agriculture, livelihoods are highly dependent on the weather patterns, making communities particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events (Irish Aid, 2018).
In response, the government has introduced adaptation and mitigation strategies including the Malawi 2063 Development Agenda, which emphasizes environmental sustainability as a key cross-cutting priority and it is committed to reduce by 52 percent its GHG emissions by 2040 across the three pillars: (i) institutional framework, (ii) knowledge, technology and financing and (iii) strengthening the resilience of the most vulnerable.
Climate justice themes in this country
CARE Malawi
care-international.org/where-we-work/malawi