Project Status and Findings:
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Mission
The mission of AfricanClimate@Home is to develop more accurate climate models of specific regions in Africa. This will serve as a basis for understanding how the climate will change in the future so that measures designed to alleviate the adverse effects of climate change can be implemented. World Community Grid's tremendous computing power will be used to understand and reduce the uncertainty with which climate processes are simulated over Africa.
Significance
Global climate change is currently recognized as one of the most pressing problems facing the world community. The negative impacts of global climate change are of great concern in all areas of the world. However, it is widely recognized that the impacts will be felt most acutely in underdeveloped countries, where the infrastructure and access to appropriate healthcare and other social services, which are critical to alleviating and responding to the effects of climate changes, is often lacking.
In this regard, Africa, a continent vulnerable to climate-related stresses, faces severe challenges. The multiple effects of a variable climate within Africa are clearly demonstrated by the widespread floods in Mozambique in 2000 and 2001, which left more than half a million people homeless and killed hundreds, as well as the poor rains experienced over much of southern Africa in recent years that have contributed to pervasive food shortages. It is currently unclear how the frequency of climate extremes will change in the future, but if left unchecked, Africa's current social problems could be exacerbated, leading to even greater devastation and loss of life.
