The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has warned that El Niño is already firmly established and is expected to strengthen, posing significant climate-related challenges to South Sudan. The IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) has also cautioned that rainfall and temperature patterns across the region are becoming increasingly unpredictable. This has raised concerns about the country's preparedness for potential drought and flooding.
Millions of South Sudanese depend directly on agriculture, livestock, and natural resources for their livelihoods, making them vulnerable to climate-related shocks. Prolonged dry conditions can reduce water availability, pasture, and agricultural production, while torrential rainfall can destroy crops, damage infrastructure, and displace communities. The country's experience with extreme weather events highlights the need for urgent action to strengthen early-warning and anticipatory-action systems.
The government has been urged to scale up anticipatory action through cash assistance, climate-resilient seeds, livestock protection, water harvesting, and stronger early-warning systems. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have emphasized the importance of taking preventive action before a crisis, which is far more effective and less costly than responding after communities have already lost their homes, crops, and livestock.
South Sudan has an opportunity to build on successful early interventions in Budi and Kapoeta North, which have demonstrated the potential for strengthening resilience and protecting vulnerable communities. By working together, government institutions, humanitarian organisations, development partners, and local communities can reduce the impact of drought and flooding before disaster strikes.
Ajak John Ateng, President of the Geological Society of South Sudan, has stressed that El Niño cannot be prevented, but its consequences can be significantly reduced through timely planning, early preparedness, and collective action. He has called for urgent action, emphasizing that the time to act is now, not later.
The country's climate-related challenges are expected to worsen due to the strengthening El Niño, which is likely to persist through February 2027. The government and its partners must work together to ensure that climate information from WMO, ICPAC, and national authorities reaches farmers, pastoralists, counties, and Payams quickly and in a form they can easily understand.
By taking proactive measures, South Sudan can mitigate the effects of drought and flooding, protecting the livelihoods of millions of people who depend on agriculture, livestock, and natural resources. The country's resilience can be strengthened, and the impact of climate-related disasters reduced, if government institutions, humanitarian organisations, development partners, and local communities work together to address the impending drought.
Key points
- South Sudan must prepare for unpredictable rainfall and temperature patterns across the Greater Horn of Africa due to a strengthening El Niño.
- The country's experience with extreme weather events highlights the need for urgent action to strengthen early-warning and anticipatory-action systems.
- Collective action and timely planning can significantly reduce the consequences of El Niño, which is expected to persist through February 2027.
