Namibia's Second National Communication - Official Document - October 2011

The creation of a National Communication offers countries the opportunity to contribute with technically sound studies and information that can be used for designing mitigation and adaptation measures, and project proposals that can and will help increase their resilience to the impacts of climate change. Activities generally include: V&A assessments, Greenhouse Gas Inventory preparation, Mitigation Analysis or Education, and awareness raising activities.The ultimate goal is the integration of climate change considerations into relevant social, economic and environmental policies and actions.

Namibia is one of the driest countries in Southern Africa with a mean annual rainfall that ranges from 25 mm in the southwest and west, to 700 mm north and northeast. With the Namibian economy disproportionately based on natural resources it is extremely sensitive to climate change effects. It is predicted with a high degree of certainty that Namibia will become hotter throughout the year, with a predicted increase in temperatures of between 1°C and 3.5°C in summer and 1°C to 4°C in winter in the period 2046 - 2065. Maximum temperatures have been getting hotter over the past 40 years, as observed in the frequency of days exceeding 35°C. Equally, the frequencies of days with temperatures below 5°C have been getting less, suggesting an overall warming.