The average temperature in Africa rose 0.7 C in the 20th century due to climate change, conservation group World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said in a report Tuesday.
The WWF warned in the report that higher temperatures could lead to further desertification, higher ocean levels and more extreme weather.
Natural resources are important to Africa's economies. According to the WWF report, 70 percent of the African people live off farming, and agricultural products account for 40 percent of all African exports.
The report blames the warmer climate for a gradual decrease in Africa's biodiversity, which it says is essential for sustaining the living habitat on the continent.
As an example of one of the more dramatic results of the warmer climate in Africa, the report notes the glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro, the continent's tallest mountain, have thinned out 82 percent from 1912 levels. The ice cap may be completely gone in 15 years at the current rate of depletion, it says.
The practice of slash-and-burn farming in Africa has led to the gradual disappearance of the savanna, it says.
Slash-and-burn farming has contributed to a rise in the temperature and a loss of living species, it says.
To stop further degradation of the African environment, the WWF is calling for a comprehensive environmental management policy, which it says is essential for sustainable development on the continent.