In March and April 2019, two devastating cyclones swept through Mozambique, one of the world's poorest countries. Hundreds of people were killed and millions more left in need of humanitarian support, such as access to safe water. The first storm, Cyclone Idai, was the second deadliest to ever hit the Southern Hemisphere. The second, Cyclone Kenneth, was the strongest to ever hit Africa.

This year, a major drought has led to the "complete disappearance" of food sources in Madagascar, according to the United Nation's World Food Programme. The "famine-like conditions", driven by climate change, are leaving people to eat only locusts and cactus leaves, it said in November.