Worst yet to come in once-in-a-century southern Africa drought

A record drought that has devastated crops across southern Africa, causing millions of people to go hungry and pushing five countries to declare a national disaster, is entering its worst stage, the UN has warned.

The United Nations World Food Programme said it expected the number of people struggling to put enough food on the table to increase as the lean season, the period between harvests when food is scarcest, gets underway and the worst period is yet to come with the next harvest not until April 2025.