Thousands of handwritten records reveal scale of warming in the Congo

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🗞️ Driving the news: Scientists have digitized thousands of historical weather records from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Belgian archives, revealing a clearer picture of climate change in the Congo Basin
• Covering 1908–2023, the records required scanning more than 9,000 pages containing over one million observations
• The resulting dataset documents rising temperatures, more frequent extreme heat and heavier rainfall in a region where long-term climate data has been scarce

🔭 The context: The Congo Basin is a critical data gap in global climate research, limiting scientists’ ability to track long-term changes and assess future risks
• Researchers found that between 1961 and 1990, average daily temperatures increased by approximately 0.9°F (0.5°C), while the average number of hot days nearly doubled
• Some of the original handwritten archives were at risk of permanent loss, underscoring the urgency of preserving historical climate observations

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The Congo Basin contains globally important tropical forests that store carbon and support rich biodiversity
• Accurate climate records can improve projections of extreme heat and heavy rainfall, helping communities and policymakers prepare for climate impacts and protect vulnerable ecosystems

⏭️ What’s next: Researchers aim to combine the digitized records with other recovered datasets to strengthen regional climate models
• More investment in weather stations, early-warning systems and data preservation across Africa will be essential to close persistent monitoring gaps and improve climate resilience

💬 One quote: “Our work further highlights the urgent need for more data rescue projects, especially in data-sparse regions, to close knowledge gaps on climate trends,” said Wim Thiery, professor at Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

📈 One stat: More than 1 million observations — recovered from over 9,000 scanned pages of historical weather records, spanning 1908 to 2023.

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