Malawi is experiencing the impact of unpredictable weather including the current intense heat, but the everyday fight for survival is weighing most heavily on women and girls. PATRICK LUNDA writes
In Ndanga Village in Mulanje, 33-year-old Abiti Sayilesi stands near a well that has become a symbol of a changing climate. The well, she says, never used to run dry. Today it is empty, forcing women and girls to walk long distances to the Namadzi River for water.
“We are in trouble now,” Sayilesi says. “The well we used to draw water is dry, and now we have to walk a long distance to Namadzi River to draw water.”
Her experience reflects a wider reality in rural Malawi, where climate change is reshaping daily life. Women, who traditionally fetch water and firewood, now spend more time and energy on tasks that were once manageable.
“We, women, are responsible for drawing water and fetching firewood for our homes,” she says. “These were easy roles in the past, but now the situation is different as we have to walk long distances to fetch firewood and water.”
In rural areas, the burden has a distinctly gendered face. Men and women both feel the shocks of erratic weather, but the daily struggle for survival often falls heaviest on women and girls.
The rains, too, have become unpredictable. September in Malawi is usually associated with warm, dry weather as the country shakes off the cold season from March to July. But this year, parts of southern Malawi experienced an unusual pattern between 21 September and 4 October, when many districts received heavy downpours.
Some subsistence farmers saw the rain and rushed to plant, hoping the moisture would continue and help their crops grow. Jane Phiri, a farmer in Mulanje, was among them.
“We received enough rain to plant our crops,” Phiri says. “So, I decided to plant despite the fact that we are not used to planting in September or October as was the case many years ago, because the climate has changed.”
But weeks later, the weather shifted again. Intense heat arrived, and the maize that had been planted early began to wilt and dry. Many farmers who took the risk now regret their decision.
James Lichapa, an agriculture officer in Zomba, said farmers had ignored advice not to plant because it was not the right time.
Dr Lucy Mtilatila, Director of Climate Change and Meteorological Services in Malawi and the country’s Permanent Representative to the World Meteorological Organization, urged farmers to wait for good rains before planting, especially with El Niño expected to affect the Southern and Eastern Africa region in the 2026/27 growing season.
The department forecasts that Malawi will begin receiving good rains mostly in the Southern Region from the second week of November, enough to support planting.
Malawi has endured a decade of harsh climate events. Cyclone Idai struck in 2019, followed by Tropical Storm Ana and Cyclone Gombe in 2022. Cyclone Freddy hit hard in 2023, killing more than 1,000 people. Cyclone Chido further impacted the country in 2024.
Weather experts warn that Malawi remains at high risk of droughts and food insecurity this year and early next year. For farmers like Sayilesi and Phiri, climate change is not a distant warning. It is a daily struggle for water, harvests, and women and girls are the most affected.
Picxture by Nation Publications