By Delia Gutiérrez. Posted February, 2015

The World Meteorological Organization has issued a report on The Climate in Africa 2013, the first in what is intended to be an annual series. It examines temperatures, rainfall and extreme events on a continent which is especially vulnerable to natural climate variability and long-term climate change due to greenhouse gas emissions.

The year 2013, was one of the warmest years on the continent since at least 1950, with temperatures above average in most regions. Precipitation at the continental scale was near average, according to the report. Several extreme events hit the region. The floods that hit Mozambique in January 2013 were among the 10 most severe in the world that year, based on the number of deaths. In contrast, the rains in Namibia and neighboring countries fell well below normal, leading to a severe drought.