In climate news, the United Nations Children’s Fund is warning that a severe drought affecting large swaths of southern Africa is threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of children. Lesotho is the latest country to declare a state of national food disaster, following Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. UNICEF warns more than 270,000 children across the region are expected to suffer from life-threatening severe acute malnutrition in 2024, which is on track to break last year’s record as the hottest year in human history. 

In southern India, landslides triggered by torrential rains have killed 70 people, with dozens more trapped under debris. Climate scientists say climate change has caused India’s monsoon rainfall patterns to become more erratic.