Thirty-one thousand, eight hundred people are forecast to die from extreme heat in Nigeria as scientists say the Sahel will be hit by Super El Niño, with abnormally high temperatures between September and June 2027.

Nigeria will be the hardest hit by Super El Niño, accounting for nearly half of the 66,800 deaths predicted in the Global South where the Sahel nations are located, according to a study by Climate Impact Lab at the University of Chicago, U.S., which said the heat will cause more deaths than the 6,800 reported missing or dead in the Nepal flash floods.

“The most impacted countries across the Sahel are forecasted to see an additional 66,800 heat deaths from September-February compared to a normal year, with nearly half of those lives being lost in Nigeria (31,400),” the report said.

In a breakdown of the projections, the study showed that Nigeria and Indonesia “will face 15,400 and 10,400 more heat deaths than normal between December and February”.

The study projected that Sudan will record the second-highest deaths of 17,400 in the Sahel, while “Niger will face 10,000, and Chad 8,000.”

Countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, India, and Brazil have also been projected to experience extreme hot temperatures that will kill tens of thousands.

It urged governments and humanitarian organisations to set aside emergency funds to minimise deaths. It urged national, state, and city governments to organise health outreaches for vulnerable communities, as well as cooling centres and hydration stations.

The study said the extreme heat warned of the impact of climate change and what the future holds.

“The anomalously warm temperatures that most of the globe will see during this El Niño event are a ‘postcard from the future’: while they feel anomalous now, they will become normal just a few decades into the future,” it stated.