DoomsdaysCW<p>'Dying of thirst' as climate-driven floods mix with oil</p><p>Maura Ajak &amp; Stephanie Stafford</p><p>"Herders scooping murky water from a small pond in grasslands in South Sudan are well aware of the dangers they face if they drink it.</p><p>"'The water is dirty because this place has oil - it has chemicals in it,' says their chief, Chilhok Puot.</p><p>"Nyatabah, a woman from this community raising cows in the heart of oil fields in Unity State, adds: 'If you drink it, it makes you pant and cough.</p><p>"'We know it's bad water, but we don't have anywhere else, we're dying of thirst.'</p><p>"A former oil engineer, David Bojo Leju, has told the BBC World service that flooding in the area is washing <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/pollution" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>pollution</span></a> into water sources.</p><p>"Large swathes of the state have been under water for several years after unprecedented <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/flooding" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>flooding</span></a>, which scientists say has been worsened by <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateChange" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateChange</span></a>.</p><p>"Mr Bojo Leju says the floods are a 'disaster' and that pollution from mismanaged oil facilities is a 'silent killer' spreading across the state.</p><p>"South Sudan is the world’s youngest country and one of its poorest, with a government hugely dependent on oil revenue.</p><p>"Unity State, a major oil-producing state, has always experienced seasonal flooding. But in 2019, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ExtremeRains" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ExtremeRains</span></a> brought a deluge that engulfed <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/villages" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>villages</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/grasslands" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>grasslands</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/forests" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>forests</span></a>. Year after year of intense rainfall followed. The water built up, trapped on the clay soil.</p><p>"At the worst point in 2022, two-thirds of Unity State were submerged, according to the UN World Food Programme (<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WFP" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WFP</span></a>) - even now, it says about 40% is still under water."</p><p>Read more:<br><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gpmx7z0xno" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">bbc.com/news/articles/c4gpmx7z</span><span class="invisible">0xno</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PetroState" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PetroState</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GPOC" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GPOC</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/UnityState" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>UnityState</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Oiligarchy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Oiligarchy</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BigOilAndGas" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BigOilAndGas</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SouthSudan" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SouthSudan</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Pollution" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Pollution</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateChange" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateChange</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateCrisis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateCrisis</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateCatastrophe" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateCatastrophe</span></a></p>