The government of South Sudan has announced an indefinite closure of all schools due to heatwaves characterized by very high temperatures ranging between 41 degrees and 45 degrees Celsius.
“The government has decided to take the following measures: one, close down all schools with effect from March 18; two, during the closure of the schools, parents are advised to prevent their children from playing outdoors for prolonged periods, and they should also monitor children, especially the young ones, for signs of heat exhaustion and heatstroke,” reads the statement in part.
The government further states that the heatwaves can acutely impact large populations for short periods, often triggering public health emergencies, resulting in excess mortality and cascading socioeconomic impacts such as loss of work capacity and labor productivity. They can also cause a loss of health service delivery capacity.
The national Health ministry has put a system in place to detect and respond to cases, as there are already cases of death related to excessive heat being reported in South Sudan.
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a heatwave can be defined as a period where local excess heat accumulates over a sequence of unusually hot days and nights. As such, heatwaves amplify many risks, such as health-related or economic risks, including increased human mortality, drought, water quality, wildlife, smoke, power shortages, and agricultural losses.