Concluding Remarks:

 

Reflecting over this experience, I realise that the theme of this blog has been the shortfalls of climate science, and a natural conclusion would be something titled; Climate Science Has Failed Africa. 

From the inefficacy of the water scarcity measurements we use, to the underrepresentation of Africans in the field, to my focus in on our inability to produce actionable predictions for some of the most vulnerable nations, basins, and communities; this entire blog has been a criticism of climate hydrology as a field. And this was only confounded by the utter disappointment of COP27 that came a few weeks ago.

But I strongly believe that this is not the time for climate defeatism. While my previous post referenced the vulnerability of Tanzanian Maasai, my references often went further, mentioning political unrest, featuring interviews, or adding cultural context. I did not conduct the analysis on representation on representation of Africans in climate science myself, nor was I alone in pointing out the need for better modelling of East Africa.

The great delight of this module has been the ability to engage with such interdisciplinary breadth of literature, and at every turn I have found academics, journalists, and laymen researching and highlighting underserved topics. As long as there are so many fighting for the future of water and development in Africa, I believe there is plenty reason for hope.

 - Aarushi