According to the latest studies, the African continent is splitting apart. Once this process is finalized, a new ocean and two new land masses will arise. Coastlines and underwater habitats will be changed forever.
Not only does the rift drastically change the geography of the landscape, but it also affects the people who call Africa home, and beyond. Climactic patterns will alter globally and shift temperatures, weather, precipitation, and storms. These changes will create new ventures and setbacks for humankind, from the need to rethink agricultural practices to the birth of a new marine environment to profit from.
When this split is finalized, Africa will need to navigate a whole new world of fresh oceans, resources, weather patterns, coastlines, and swaths of land. How the continent chooses to adapt to the fracture will affect the entire planet. While the timescale is millions of years from now, perhaps due to the major impacts, the time to prepare is now.
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How Will Africa Splitting Apart Affect The Continent?
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When Africa splits in half due to the East African Rift System, it will be the dawn of a whole new world. Due to the fracture, water will pour into the valley and transform Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia, and other areas into islands. This land-speckled sea could be so big that it will be deemed the sixth of Earth's major oceans, and with a new ocean comes new resources. Previously landlocked communities like Zambia and Uganda will have access to sealife and habitats for food, trading, money, and study.
However, this flooding could erase villages that are on the coast today, as the influx of water could eat away at the shores on which houses are built. This would disrupt ecosystems closer to the coast and within freshwater sources that will now be saturated with salt. Countries, cities, and towns that historically relied on these now weakened or displaced habitats and landscapes will likely lose out on resources, strategic placement, and long-established infrastructure systems that lean on those things. Eruptive power struggles and mass migration would likely ensue.
Outside of Africa, the planet's worldwide currents would shift due to the presence of another ocean. Since currents regulate the weather and fuel atmospheric systems, the climate's patterns would alter. This would force humanity to adapt and change their practices to suit the new temperatures, precipitation levels, and severity of storms they'd be experiencing. Entire crops, modes of transportation, industries, and other keystones of society might just not be viable anymore.
Perhaps nations would adapt well, forging new and practical ways of farming, managing climate technology, and mitigating storm surges. However, countries with fewer resources and underfunded communities could face disaster. This could be deadly for those living in regions where leaders are not abiding by the new norms effectively.
But if Africa takes advantage of new trading routes and marine resources, and if the world uses the changed climate as an opportunity to craft improved systems, the continent's splitting could usher in a utopian future.
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Why Is Africa Splitting Apart?
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In "Attenuation and Velocity Tomography of the Northern East African Rift," a 2025 study published in the journal JGR Solid Earth, scientists explain that the African continent is splitting apart due to tectonic movement. As the Somali and Nubian plates move away from each other, the land above essentially tears.
The East African Rift System, a section of the continent filled with fault lines and valleys, is at the heart of this phenomenon. It's here that the future ocean and perhaps a new continent would form.
Somali plate
Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia
Nubian plate
The rest of Africa
The Earth's crust situated below the East African Rift System is pretty weak and therefore, malleable -- there's already a 35-mile-long rift there in the northeast of Ethiopia called the Afar Depression, which emerged in 2005. It's not strong enough to keep together as the plates pull it apart. So, in millions of years, it's expected that it will give out entirely. When this happens, that opening will be filled with water pouring in from nearby oceans.
On top of forming a new ocean, the water getting displaced will have another major impact. As water leaves the present-day coast for depressions further inland, it will leave behind exposed land. A bit of the Somali plate will now be above water. It could be big enough to warrant the recognition of a new continent.
When tectonic plates move, they can cause major natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions.
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Why Does The African Continent Splitting Matter?
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When Africa splits apart, the devastation and opportunities will be widespread. Even if it were to just affect the continent, it would be significant. Africa is the second most populous continent in the world, according to the latest findings. It's also the fastest-growing, based on data from the United Nations.
By 2054, sub-Saharan Africa alone is projected to see a 79% increase in population, reaching 2.2 billion people. Scientists believe that by 2100, that number will spike to 3.3 billion. Between 2024 and 2054, nine major countries, including Niger and Angola, are predicted to double their populations. And that's all well ahead of when this fracture is expected to finalize.
There are already billions more people believed to be on Earth than previous estimates indicate, so perhaps even these striking totals don't cut it. But even if it did, what happens on the continent is clearly of global concern. This is especially true if another continent and an ocean are set to emerge from it.
What happens to Africa affects everyone
While the world has millions of years to prepare for these transformations, it's never too early to think ahead. Do humanity's current systems and ways of life have staying power? Is humankind thinking about longevity with its inventions and economic setups? How can communities prepare to lose strategic positioning should the land around them shift?
The truth is, the planet is already changing on a massive scale. Beach towns are crumbling into the sea, cities are flooding, and entire countries are washing away. All the while, oases desertify, resources dry up, and deadly storms kill more people every year.
Despite the estimates that the world has millions of years to prepare for a shift in reality, it seems that humans are already living in a new age.