All schools in South Sudan will be closed starting on Monday in preparation for a severe heatwave expected to last for two weeks.
With temperatures predicted to climb to 45C (113F), the health and education ministries have advised parents to keep all children indoors.
The statement released late on Saturday did not say how long schools would be closed, but it did threaten to revoke the registration of any school found to be open within the warning period.
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, saying that 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 from 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.
