Climate change Blantyre

Kondwani Mwale and Hope Kelvin Chilunga at Malawi’s Nkhwazi Aeros participated in our ongoing Crowddroning attempt to break the Guinness World Records for ”Largest Digital Album with Drone Imagery”. Rather than just breaking the record, the main goal of the attempt is to highlight how valuable drones are as tools to monitor the effects of climate change, thereby helping find solutions and preventive measures.

Kondwani and Hope decided to focus on the devastating effects of deforestation near their home of Blantyre. As Kondwani explains:

“We decided to choose the Ndirande mountain area because the area has been impacted by climate change due to human practices like deforestation, waste disposal, and cultivation. Trees help to regulate the climate by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Cutting down trees in the area has affected the greenhouse effect. This has resulted in rising levels of water bodies in the Mudi dam in the area and silting due to soil erosion. Climate change has also resulted in an increased amount of rain falling in a single day resulting in floods in the area. Just this week it flooded in Ndirande. The floods have destroyed crops, properties, and buildings. Nkhwazi Aeros takes the initiative of providing integrated solutions in our local communities as we try to create a better future.”

Using drone imagery to monitor areas over time provides relevant researchers and local authorities with evidence to base their actions on.