Extreme heat wave forces South Sudan to close schools
South Sudan has long been affected by disasters exacerbated by climate change, such as recurring droughts and floods. Now extreme heat is forcing the world’s youngest country to close its schools.
Authorities have ordered schools across the country closed since Monday due to a wave of excessive heat that is expected to last at least two weeks. Temperatures are forecast to reach 113 degrees Fahrenheit, well above the 90 degree highs typically experienced in the dry season from December to March.
Officials did not say how long schools would remain closed. But the ministries of health and education said in a joint statement that “any school opened during this period will have its registration revoked.”
Parents have also been urged not to let their children play outside and to monitor them for signs of heat exhaustion and heatstroke.
Sweltering temperatures in South Sudan, where the tropical climate has both dry and wet seasons, interrupt the start of the academic year. Most schools in the East African country, especially those outside the capital Juba, are overcrowded and underfunded and lack infrastructure such as air conditioning to help withstand such heat.
South Sudan is highly exposed to severe climatic events, including droughts, floods and rising temperatures. These changes have exacerbated displacement, food insecurity and communal conflict in the country of 11 million people, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011.
The heat wave is also expected to put pressure on the country’s nascent healthcare system, which has long struggled with limited funding and labor shortages.
South Sudan is not the only African country where extreme weather conditions have led to school closures. In 2022, the Malawi government shortened the school day in the southern Shire Valley due to rising temperatures. And in Uganda, severe flooding has repeatedly forced the government to do so schools close over the years.
But in South Sudan, conflict, a worsening humanitarian crisis and a tense political environment have made it even more difficult to alleviate the unrest caused by climate change.
South Sudan’s civil war has killed around 400,000 people and displaced millions more since 2013. And while there has been a tenuous political settlement among the country’s feuding leaders in recent years, there is a growing humanitarian crisis and deadly divisions between forces within the ruling power. alliance have increased uncertainty over whether repeatedly postponed elections will take place this year.
At the same time, war in neighboring Sudan has forced the return of nearly half a million South Sudanese who fled the conflict at home. Many have returned to towns and villages where their homes and farms have been looted and are finding it difficult to rebuild their lives.
Emmanuel Lokosang, head teacher at Jada Jedid Nursery and Primary School in the capital, said he hoped the weather would cool soon so students could resume classes.
“Juba is really hot,” Mr. Lokosang, whose school has more than 600 students, said in a telephone interview Wednesday morning.
He added: “We hope they do not delay for long because the more we delay, the more it will affect the academic calendar and how we can restore the curriculum.”