“Congo Basin Hot Days Nearly Double in Two Decades, Rescued Weather Records Reveal” — what this page in the network covers. New research from Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), published in Earth System Dynamics, uncovers a sharp rise in extreme heat across the Congo Basin by rescuing decades-old weather records from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The study draws on paper archives from the Institut National pour l'Etude et la Recherche Agronomiques (INERA) in Yangambi and the State Archives of Belgium, filling a critical data gap for one of the world's most climate-sensitive regions.
Since the 1960s, the frequency of hot days—defined by a high-temperature threshold—has nearly doubled, signaling a robust warming trend that was previously obscured by sparse instrumental records. The findings matter because the Congo Basin, home to the second-largest rainforest on Earth, plays a vital role in regulating global climate and supporting millions of people. For the complete material, the listing points back to the source inside the network.