Is South Sudan seeing the first permanent mass displacement due to climate change?

Heavy rainfall has been affecting South Sudan since May, triggering intense floods that have resulted in damage and displacements. More than 700,000 people in the country have taken a hit. The levels in Lake Victoria need to recede for the situation to get better.

Hundreds of thousands of people already had to evacuate their homes due to huge floods some years back and had yet to return before the latest threat emerged. Today, there are concerns that these displaced communities may never be able to return.

There is nothing unprecedented about natural disasters displacing communities. This sort of migration is seen across the globe and has become more frequent over the years. But South Sudan is probably seeing the first permanent mass displacement due to climate change.

Massive climate migration in South Sudan

Nearly 2.6 million people had to face forced displacements in the period from 2020 to 2022, a result of both conflict and violence (1 million) and flooding (1.5 million). Both factors are interlinked as flooding causes displaced herders and resident farmers to fight over land.

There has also been a rise in infections like cholera and hepatitis E, snakebites and malaria. Because of people becoming more malnourished, these diseases have become more dangerous. The country also has a sizeable number of Sudanese refugees.

Tens of thousands of people have fled into South Sudan from neighbouring Sudan after the start of a separate conflict in 2023. Many people are housed in internal displacement camps amid concerns about the long term future and sustainability of the camp.