BBC’s Life At 50°C is back with new series exploring global water insecurity in South Sudan, Syria, Australia and Colombia – as half the world hit by extreme drought in 2023…
A new run of episodes of the BBC World Service series Life at 50°C – which investigates the most deadly aspects of climate change – launched this week with the first of four films taking viewers across the globe to explore the devastating effects of water insecurity.
Fiona Crack, Deputy Director, BBC World Service:
“Life at 50 °C explores the urgent and evolving consequences of climate change. This series not only examines how the crisis is reshaping our planet and the lives of people globally but also highlights the remarkable efforts being made to build a more sustainable future. I’m proud of the BBC World Service teams behind these important investigations and know audiences will find each one compelling.”
New analysis by the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, shared first with BBC News, reveals that 48% of the world went through at least one month of extreme drought in 2023, while almost a third saw an increase in extreme rain.
For the new series of the BBC’s Life at 50C: Water Crisis, the BBC World Service reports from some of the hottest parts of the world where demand for water is already high – South Sudan, Syria, Australia and Colombia – to explore the real-world impacts on their populations. Extreme drought poses an immediate risk to water and sanitation, food security, and public health, but it can also affect energy supplies, transportation networks and the economy.
The first episode of the series, Poisoned Floods, from the World Service’s investigative unit BBC Africa Eye, is available to watch on the BBC Africa YouTube channel and BBC iPlayer. An audio version of the investigation is available under the BBC World Service’s podcast strand on BBC Sounds and all major podcast platforms. The episode will also be broadcast on BBC World Service English radio today (Thursday 14 November.)
For the hour-long film, the BBC World Service has rare access to the severely affected region of Unity State in South Sudan, where 77% of the country had at least one month of drought last year and half the country was in extreme drought for at least six months. At the same time more than 700,000 people have been affected by flooding.
Some of those affected now live in Bentiu camp – a home to 140,000 displaced people which has been surrounded by water for close to five years. At the worst point, two thirds of the state was under water. People are forced to forage for food like water lily roots to supplement UN rations. But, the corporation has been shown evidence that the floodwater may harbour another threat to the region’s vulnerable inhabitants – pollution from the country’s oil industry.
In an exclusive interview with the BBC World Service, a former engineer with the South Sudanese oil consortium Greater Pioneering Oil Company tells the Beeb that the oil could be a “silent killer.” The BBC put these allegations to GPOC and to the South Sudanese government, who did not respond.
In episode two, Our Water, Their War – available on the BBC World Service YouTube and BBC iPlayer and on audio on BBC World Service English’s Documentary podcast strand from Monday 18 November – the BBC reports from North Eastern Syria, where since 2020, an extreme and exceptional agricultural drought has gripped northeast Syria and parts of Iraq.
Drought and ongoing conflict have left more than a million people without access to water in the city of Hasakah. This poignant film follows the water engineers and tanker drivers trying to get water to those who need it most.
Episode three, set in Australia and episode four, in Colombia, will be available in 2025. Both films explore how environmental damage is contributing to water stress.
Monica Garnsey, Executive Producer, Life at 50:
“This year’s series explores the devastating reality of water scarcity and couldn’t have happened without the brave contributors who reveal the challenges that are affecting their way of life. Our work underscores the vital role of journalism in uncovering the truth, shedding light on critical issues and giving a voice to communities and people who are often ignored.”
You can follow the second series of BBC World Service: at 50°C, Water Crisis, from Monday 11 November on BBC iPlayer in the UK, and internationally on the BBC News channel and
BBC World Service YouTube and BBC.com.
