Livelihoods in South Sudan swept away by climate change, floods by United Nations News

Climate change is already an existential threat in South Sudan. Devastating floods in recent months have left thousands of herders without their most precious possessions: goats, cows and cattle. The animals are central to livelihoods, diet and income, but also to age-old customs, including marriage and cultural traditions.

All risk being swept away or scorched by climate change.

In October, massive flooding affected 300,000 people in South Sudan – a hefty figure for a nation of 13 million, scarred by years of civil strife, where infrastructure is poor.

According to the UN World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Africa report published Monday, average surface temperature across Africa in 2024 were approximately 0.86°C above the 1991–2020 average.

North Africa recorded the highest temperature - 1.28°C above the 1991-2020 average; it is the fastest-warming sub-region of Africa.

"Flooding has continued to be more intense and appears more times within the year than it used to," said Meshack Malo, South Sudan Country Representative for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). "And that means that any short range then can easily trigger the flooding impact, because water and the soil remain quite saturated."