As Europe emerges from the grip of a heat wave - its worst on record - the reality of climate change is getting uncomfortably close. This is a uniquely human challenge, but solving it will require some deft mathematics.
Climate change poses a severe economic challenge to our future. Aside from direct losses due to floods, earthquakes and droughts, there are potentially substantial losses involved in financing the green revolution. Not only does capital need to be allocated for new technologies to reduce emissions, but there may be losses arising from existing capital investment in infrastructure and assets that are no longer needed. All will involve a massive reallocation of financial flows.
One of the big questions besetting the world economy now is how fast can this be done in such a way that it does not cause financial instability? This was also one of the questions that a postgraduate student team wrestled with at the sixth Financial Mathematics Team Challenge hosted by the African Institute of Financial Markets and Risk Management at the University of Cape Town in July. The annual event assembles teams of talented students from global universities to solve pressing problems.
A team of students from McMaster University in Canada is examining and analysing variables of climate change, and the complex interactions between them and the economy. Any plausible model resulting from their efforts may provide a mechanism to manage the effect, said Matheus Grasselli, chair of the department of mathematics and statistics at McMaster. "This is essential for proposing policy changes or providing scenario planning for industry," he said.
You might think that this work is highly specialised and has nothing to do with securing a "regular job" or choosing a career in a creative field. However, the days of needing a good mathematics degree only for a career in the financial sector are gone, said Andrea Macrina, director of the financial mathematics programme at University College London and adjunct professor at the UCT institute.
Globally, mathematics education is benefiting from high levels of investment to meet future needs. At McMaster, mathematics is the largest department in the science faculty, with student numbers increasing by a multiple of five over the past six years. "Prospective students are aware of the need to have mathematical skill to be able to work in any industry, and they are designing their education around that," said Grasselli.
In SA, the picture is less positive. It is deeply problematic that the country is not producing sufficient school leavers who are competent in mathematics. This needs to be remedied. Urgently. We need skilled people who can inform policy and shape industry, and on an individual level maths proficiency will become increasingly indispensable for job security.
Quite simply, the future world of work will be divided into jobs that are fulfilling, worth doing, and lucrative - and those that are not. Mathematics may prove to be the dividing line.
• Mahomed is a lecturer at the African Institute of Financial Markets and Risk Management (AIFMRM) at the University of Cape Town
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