The devastating floods in South Sudan have left thousands of people with their most precious possessions, such as goats, cows and cattle, on pastures, due to the devastation of recent months. Animals are the centre of people’s lives and traditional customs, including marriage and cultural traditions. All risks are wiped out or burned by the devastation of climate change.
“The impacts of extreme weather and climate change have collided with all aspects of Africa’s socioeconomic development, exacerbating hunger, anxiety and evacuation,” the UN World Weather Organization (WMO) said Monday.
WMO said the average surface temperature in Africa in 2024 was about 0.86°C above the 1991-2020 average.
North Africa recorded a high of 1.28°C above the 1991-2020 average. It is Africa’s fastest subregion.
Ocean heat spikes
Sea surface temperature was also at its highest record. “We have observed significant increases in sea surface temperatures, particularly in the Atlantic and Mediterranean oceans,” WMO said.
Data show that almost the entire waters around Africa have been affected by strong, harsh or extremely strong marine heat waves last year, particularly the tropical Atlantic.
WMO director Celeste Sauro warned that climate change is an urgent and escalating issue across the African continent.
The influence of El Niño
He said it highlights Africa’s specific vulnerability to our warming planet, primarily caused by rich countries burning fossil fuels.
WMO also noted that the El Niño phenomenon was active between 2023 and early 2024 and “played a major role in rainfall patterns” across Africa.
In northern Nigeria alone, 230 people died in floods last September, ousting 600,000 across Borno’s capital, Maiduguri, contaminated water and contaminated water in abdication camps.
Regionally, the rise in waters caused by heavy rains has destroyed West Africa and affected an astounding 4 million people.
Conversely, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe suffered the worst drought in at least 20 years, with grain harvests in Zambia and Zimbabwe each falling 50% below the five-year average.
Heat shock
Heatwaves also says it is an increasing threat to health and development and Africa, WMO has been the warmest on record in the last decade. Depending on the data set, 2024 was the warmest or second temperature year.
The fierce temperatures have already affected children’s education, and in March 2024 the school was closed in South Sudan as temperatures reached 45°C. According to UNICEF’s United Nations Children’s Fund, at least 242 million students worldwide missed schools due to extreme weather in 2024.
Beyond education, rising temperatures across the continent have made Africa more dense and enriched food, making North African countries the most intense.
South Sudan Focus
The unstable weather patterns across Africa also hinder agriculture, promote food insecurity and drive away those who have already had to flee the war, the WMO explained.
For example, last October, floods affected 300,000 people in South Sudan. This is a huge figure for a country of 13 million people who have been hurt by years of civil war and poor infrastructure.
The disaster wiped out cattle, resulting in stagnant water-fuel diseases of between 330 and 34 million livestock (approximately 2 people per inhabitant). The self-sufficient family had to ask for help again.
“Someone gets slipped and fed and it affects their dignity,” said Meshak Malo, president of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in South Sudan.
At the forefront of climate change, troubled East African countries are already dealing with a crippling economic crisis. The war in adjacent Sudan has exacerbated a massive amount of displacement, expanding tensions and prevalent violence at home.
The fight in Sudan derailed the South Sudan economy. This is dependent on oil exports for 90% of national revenue, the report shows.
Destructive Cycle
When South Sudan is not hit by floods, it is suffering from drought.
“This cyclical change between floods and droughts will have an impact on the country for most of the year,” Malo said.
In recent years, floods have worsened, making them even more intense and frequent.
“That means that short rain can easily cause flooding as the water and soil remain very saturated,” Malo added. “So its strength and frequency make this situation worse.”
With road access being suspended due to aid trucks, UN agencies such as the World Food Programme (WFP) must airlift food aid, a costly and impractical solution, as humanitarian funding is declining.
I’ll push it back
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In the South Sudan town of Capoeta, FAO helped reduce the number of dry months from six to two by harvesting and storing water to protect crops at risk from climate change.
“The effects of the drought are no longer felt,” FAO’s Malo said, speaking to the UN news from the capital.
It’s worth the salt
In a country with lack of water resources for crop irrigation, climate resilience and adaptation, Dr. Ernest Affimama, from Addis Ababa’s African WMO Regional Office, told journalists.
And while desalination – the process of removing salt from seawater – may be a solution for some, it is not viable for many African countries.
Rather than turning to desalination, it is urgently necessary to invest in adaptive measures, including early warning systems for action and preparation, environmental scientists say. “When we consider the challenges of sub-Saharan Africa, (desalination) presents complex economic, environmental and social challenges, and there is a question about its long-term sustainability and equity,” says Dr. Dawit Solomon, a contributor to fostering the impacts of CGIAR climate research in Africa (Aiccra).
“Africa is facing a high climate bill. We are facing this additional risk multiplier, as we imagine a continent that is struggling economically,” added Dr. Salomon.
