Zimbabwe
is
highly
vulnerable
to
the
adverse
impacts
of
climate
change.
The
Global
Climate
Risk
Index
ranks
it
34th on
a
list
of
174
countries
most
affected
by
extreme
weather
events
between
1995
and
2024
(Germanwatch,
2025).
And
the
Notre
Dame
Global
Adaptation
Initiative
(2026)
places
Zimbabwe
171st out
of
187
countries,
combining
high
vulnerability
to
climate
change
with
low
readiness
to
deal
with
climate-change
impacts.
The
country’s
major
challenges
include
reduced
and
erratic
rainfall
(Government
of
Zimbabwe
&
UNDP,
2017).
Whereas
droughts
occurred
in
one
in
10
growing
seasons
between
1902
and
1979,
their
frequency
increased
to
one
in
four
between
1980
and
2011.
Climate
change
has
also
been
associated
with
increases
in
average
temperatures,
numerous
mid
season
dry
spells,
and
a
shortening
of
the
rainy
season
since
1960
(World
Bank,
2024).
In
2024,
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
declared
a
state
of
national
disaster
in
response
to
the
impact
of
an
El
Niño-induced
drought
(Guardian,
2024).
This
followed
a
declaration
of
a
state
of
national
disaster
in
2019
after
Cyclone
Idai
ravaged
the
eastern
part
of
Zimbabwe,
particularly
the
Chimanimani
and
Chipinge
districts
of
Manicaland,
leaving
31
dead
and
more
than
100
missing
(United
Nations
Office
for
the
Coordination
of
Humanitarian
Affairs,
2019). In
January
it
was
reported
that
heavy
rains
during
the
summer
had
already
left
70 people
dead
and
51
injured,
and
destroyed
at
least
1,000
houses
(Shamu,
2026).
The
government’s
response
to
climate
change
is
anchored
in
the
National
Climate
Change
Adaptation
Plan
(2024-2030).
The
document
serves
as
a
roadmap
toward
a
climate-resilient,
low-carbon
economy,
which
it
seeks
to
achieve
by
mobilising
climate
finance
and
fostering
climate-change-adaptation
research,
innovation,
and
technology
development
and
transfer.
The
plan
lays
out
how
the
government
will
plan,
implement,
monitor,
and
evaluate
climate-adaptation
initiatives,
as
well
as
how
these
will
be
integrated
into
sectoral
development
programmes.
Other
strategic
priorities
include
strengthening
institutional
capacity
for
climate-change
management,
enhancing
climate-information
systems,
and
improving
disaster
preparedness
(Government
of
Zimbabwe,
2024).
In
September
2025,
Zimbabwe
gazetted
the
Climate
Change
Management
Bill,
a
legal
framework
designed
to
bolster
the
country’s
response
to
climate
change.
If
passed
by
Parliament
and
signed
into
law
by
the
president,
the
legislation
will
establish
a
national
climate
fund
that
will
draw
on
taxes
and
proceeds
from
the
trading
of
carbon
credits
to
fund
adaptation,
mitigation,
and
capacity
building.
Among
other
things,
the
bill
provides
for
the
obligations
of
sub-national
governments,
establishes
units
to
monitor
and
regulate
environmental
and
meteorological
outcomes,
and
allows
for
“green”
financial
incentives
(Chishuvo,
2025).
This
dispatch
reports
on
a
special
survey
module
in
the
Afrobarometer
Round
10
questionnaire
that
explores
Zimbabweans’
experiences
and
perceptions
of
climate
change
and
changing
weather
patterns.
Findings
show
that
overwhelming
majorities
of
citizens
report
worsening
drought
and
crop
failure
over
the
past
decade.
More
than
one-third
report
having
adapted
to
changing
weather
patterns
by
adjusting
water
consumption,
reducing
or
rescheduling
outdoor
work,
modifying
the
crops
they
plant
or
foods
they
eat,
and,
among
those
who
have
livestock,
altering
livestock
management.
A
slim
majority
of
citizens
have
heard
of
climate
change.
Among
them,
more
than
nine
in
10
say
it
is
making
life
worse,
and
two-thirds
say
human
activity
is
to
blame
for
the
changing
climate,
either
on
its
own
or
in
conjunction
with
natural
processes.
Majorities
say
that
the
Zimbabwean
government
must
take
urgent
action
to
limit
climate
change
and
that
rich
countries
should
help
fund
the
country’s
response.
Among
all
citizens,
majorities
support
a
range
of
potential
policy
responses
to
changing
weather
conditions,
including
greater
pressure
on
developed
countries
to
provide
climate
aid,
investment
in
climate-resilient
infrastructure
and
renewable
technologies,
use
of
cleaner
burning
cookstoves,
and
a
ban
on
cutting
trees
for
firewood
or
charcoal.