Africa’s camels are dying from extreme heat as temperatures soar

Camels are famously known as the ships of the desert, but even these hardy animals are not being spared from the extremes of rising temperatures in Africa.

The Afar region of north-eastern Ethiopia is one of the hottest and driest places on Earth, where nomads often lead camel caravans carrying salt through the desert.

“I can see my camels suffering from extreme heat,” Ali Umer, a camel herder from Semera in Afar, told the BBC.

“They get blisters on their feet, their eyes become watery and the hot sand burns their skin and eats up their hair when they are sitting,” said the 40-year-old who owns around 500 camels.

“Within the past one month I have lost eight camel calves because of the extreme heat, it has become much more intense and difficult.

“Even the wind, which used to bring cool air, now carries heat,” he said, adding he had noticed these drastic changes in the temperature in recent years.

He is not alone in his observations: scientists, animal welfare workers and various studies all mention stress, fatigue, dehydration, disease prevalence as direct impacts of extreme heat.

The higher temperatures also indirectly make camels suffer by causing severe loss of water, vegetation, and reduced shaded areas.