Every night across the Niger Delta, flames rise from oil fields. They have been rising for sixty-six years. And the communities living beneath them — who did not ask for this, did not profit from it, and cannot escape it — have been breathing the consequences ever since.

Today is World Meteorological Day. This year’s theme is a global call to understand how climate change is reshaping the world. Here in Nigeria, we do not need climate models to feel what is happening. We need only to look at the Niger Delta — where the oil industry’s routine practice of gas flaring is contributing directly, measurably, and unforgivably to the climate crisis while destroying the health and futures of millions of people.

To mark this day, the Media and Environment Development Initiative (MEDI) is publishing a research brief — Burning the Future: Gas Flaring, Climate Change, and Justice in Nigeria’s Niger Delta — drawing on verified data from the World Bank, NOSDRA, NEITI, peer-reviewed science, and investigative journalism. This blog post summarises the key findings. The full report, with 22 verifiable references, is available for download below.

Nigeria is one of the world’s worst offenders — and flaring is getting worse

The World Bank’s Global Gas Flaring Tracker — the gold standard for independent global data — ranked Nigeria seventh in the world for gas flaring volume in 2024. More disturbingly, 2024 saw global flaring hit its highest level since 2007, at 151 billion cubic metres. Nigeria was among the five countries posting the largest increases.