South Sudan closed schools for two weeks due to a severe heatwave causing student collapses. Officials urge residents to stay indoors, and experts recommend adjusting the school calendar. The country continues to face extreme climate challenges, including droughts and flooding.

South Sudan has closed all schools for two weeks due to an ongoing extreme heatwave that has caused some students to collapse.

This is the second time the country, which experiences severe climate change effects—including heavy flooding during the rainy season—has taken such measures in February and March.

Deputy Education Minister Martin Tako Moi stated on Thursday that an average of 12 students had been collapsing daily in Juba city.

Most schools in South Sudan are built with makeshift structures made from iron sheets and lack electricity, preventing the installation of cooling systems.

Environment Minister Josephine Napwon Cosmos on Thursday advised residents to stay indoors and drink plenty of water as temperatures were expected to rise as high as 42 degrees Celsius (107.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

Napwon also proposed that government employees work in shifts to reduce the risk of heat strokes.

Education professionals have urged the government to consider adjusting the school calendar so that schools close in February and resume in April when temperatures decrease.

Abraham Kuol Nyuon, dean of the Graduate College at the University of Juba, told The Associated Press that the school calendar should be localized based on the climate conditions in each of the country’s 10 states.

Episodes of drought and increasingly extreme rainfall are worsening living conditions in South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011.

Scientists warn that recurring heatwaves are a clear sign of global warming and are expected to become more frequent, prolonged, and intense.

South Sudan continues to grapple with persistent natural disasters, famine, economic instability, and communal conflicts.