Mozambique is a country in southern Africa with a 2,500km coastline along the Indian Ocean. It has abundant natural resources both onshore and offshore. North of the Zambezi River Mozambique has inland hills and low plateaus, followed by rugged highlands further west. South of the Zambezi are lowlands and in the deep south are the Lebombo Mountains. Mozambique has an altitude-dependent tropical climate with a wet season from October to March and a dry Season April to September. Mozambique is frequently exposed to cyclones in the wet season and droughts are very common disasters occurring every three to four years (World Bank Group, 2023). As one of the poorest countries in the world and one of the most frequently and worst affected by natural disasters – the majority of which are linked to climate change (UNDP, n.d.) – Mozambique is the 7th most at risk country in the world (World Risk Index, 2023). 

Since 1960, average annual temperatures have increased by 0.9˚C and are projected to rise another 1˚C in the next 20 years (GRID Geneva, n.d.). In that same time period, rainfall decreased 3.1% per decade whilst the proportion of days with heavy rainfall increased by 2.6% per decade (ibid.). This has contributed to catastrophic flooding and has destroyed crops, homes, infrastructure, and taken thousands of lives. Climate change is expected to increase the risk and severity of droughts and floods in Mozambique, with severe consequences for the 70% of its population that live in rural areas and depend on rain-fed subsistence farming (World Bank Group, 2023). Climate change is projected to exacerbate the effects of the natural hazards that Mozambique is already exposed to (ibid.). 

According to GRID Geneva (n.d.), Mozambique has the right policies and initiatives planned to address its climate risks, however its institutional, financial, technical, and capacity building barriers limit their implementation.