South African weather officials said Sunday that just in the past week there have been 11 fatalities from heatstroke in the Free State Province after a week of record high temperatures. Officials say the situation is likely to get worse in the drought-hit region in the next 10 to 15 years, Physorg reported. The drought is a sign of a changing climate the whole region must prepare for, say experts. The El Nino weather phenomenon has returned to southern Africa, marked by delayed rainfall and unusually high temperatures, according to the World Food Program. The environmental effects of El Nino are expected to last until at least 2017, affecting the food security of 29 million people due to poor harvests, said the WFP report.
