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00:00 "Dozens of hippos trapped in a pool of mud.
00:05 Just a few months ago, this river was flowing freely.
00:08 Today, it's completely dried out and its wildlife has nowhere to flee to."
00:13 "We're experiencing a severe drought in our village.
00:16 This pond had water, but it's completely dried up.
00:20 Our animals get stuck in this muddy pond every day when they try to drink the water.
00:24 There's absolutely no water as you can see, even the hippos are stuck."
00:28 Induced by the El Nino weather pattern, which should last until May, this is one of the
00:33 region's worst droughts in four decades.
00:36 Since January 2024, extreme climate shocks have killed more than 130 people and destroyed
00:41 over 2 million hectares of crops across southern Africa.
00:44 "The river has gone dry.
00:46 We are currently not getting any clients as we used to.
00:50 The fishing industry has gone down.
00:53 Trees are slowly dying.
00:55 It's not even lush green as we used to experience.
01:00 Our canoes have run dry and people are actually suffering."
01:05 In Botswana, thousands of people have been forced to flee to the north of the country,
01:09 close to the Wetu National Parks.
01:12 "We've moved temporarily because of the drought.
01:16 We've lost most of our livestock, especially the younger calves.
01:20 Since we've moved here, the situation has gotten better.
01:22 Our animals are better.
01:23 I hope we'll survive the drought."
01:25 24 million people in southern Africa are now facing what the UN calls acute hunger.
01:33 And water scarcity has also aggravated the cholera outbreak in the region, which has
01:37 killed over 4,000 people since the start of 2023.