South Sudan closes schools in preparation for 45C heatwave

Authorities advise parents to keep children indoors during extreme heatwave, expected to last two weeks

South Sudan is closing all schools from Monday in preparation for an extreme heatwave expected to last two weeks.

The health and education ministries have advised parents to keep all children indoors as temperatures are expected to soar to 45C (113F).

They warned that any school found open during the warning period would have its registration withdrawn, but the statement issued late on Saturday did not specify how long schools would remain closed.

The ministries said they “will continue to monitor the situation and inform the public accordingly”.

Peter Garang, who lives in the capital, Juba, welcomed the decision. He said schools should be connected to the electricity grid to enable the installation of air conditioners.

South Sudan, one of the world’s youngest nations, is particularly vulnerable to the climate crisis with heatwaves common but rarely exceeding 40C (104F). Civil conflict has plagued the east African country, which also suffers drought and flooding, making living conditions difficult.

The World Food Programme in its latest country brief said South Sudan “continues to face a dire humanitarian crisis” due to violence, economic instability, climate change and an influx of people fleeing the conflict in neighbouring Sudan. It also stated that 818,000 vulnerable people were given food and cash-based transfers in January.

Cover photo: People stand by their houses in Juba, South Sudan, which is facing a humanitarian crisis amid violence, economic instability, the climate crisis and an influx of people fleeing the conflict in Sudan. Photograph: Gregorio Borgia/AP