Between Scorched Earth and Rising Waters: Stories from Africa’s Climate Frontlines

Picture Credit: by Shuttershock

Reporting on climate change is rarely a planned journey; often, it unfolds through lived experience. Over the past month, my reporting led me across two very different crises; one of extreme drought in East Africa and another of devastating floods in Southern Africa, revealing the brutal extremes of a warming world.

A routine assignment took me to Mandera, a remote town along the Kenya–Somalia border, to report on drought. At the time, the crisis received little international attention, and I expected a straightforward story. Instead, the reality was far grimmer. Dry riverbeds stretched across the landscape, livestock were emaciated, and communal graveyards held the burned remains of animals that had not survived. Local chief Adan Molu Kike quietly explained that animals had been dying since July and were still dying months later. Water had become the greatest struggle, delivered weekly; or sometimes less, by aid agencies, shared between people and their animals.

For pastoralists like Mohamed Hussein, the drought had wiped out livelihoods. From 100 animals, he had only 20 left. Crops had failed. Survival meant moving on quickly from loss, because mourning livestock does not feed families.

I returned home to Zimbabwe believing that my climate reporting had paused. Instead, I encountered the opposite extreme. Heavy rains brought flash floods, soon followed by reports of worsening flooding in South Africa and Mozambique. Within days, I was deployed again; this time to Mozambique.

Picture Credit: by World Council of Churches

In Maputo and later in Marracuene and Xai Xai, floodwaters swallowed homes, highways, farmland, and businesses. Communities waded through polluted water, unsure when they could return home. With upstream dams full and more water expected downstream, the danger remains far from over.

From drought to floods, these journeys underscored a stark truth: climate change is not a distant threat. It is unfolding now, reshaping lives in relentless and unpredictable ways.