theSIGNAL SCIENCE
24 September 2026
"The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm, but because of those who look without acting."
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Science

El Niño May Push 8 Million Children Into Hunger

A looming super El Niño threatens to drive a 30% surge in child hunger across six East and Southern African nations by early 2027.

In the Karamoja region of northeastern Uganda, something alarming is already happening. Food insecurity there has jumped by more than 40%. And according to a new analysis by Save the Children, things are about to get considerably worse — not just in Uganda, but across six countries where the next El Niño is expected to strike hardest. The numbers are hard to sit with.

Across Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Uganda and Kenya, around 12.6 million people currently face crisis-level hunger or worse, as measured by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a globally recognised hunger monitor. By March 2027, that figure is projected to climb to 16.4 million.

Among those people, approximately 6 million are children — and that number could reach 8 million within months. That is a 30% rise, driven in significant part by the approach of what scientists are describing as one of the strongest El Niño events in recent years. The picture looks different country by country, which is part of what makes this crisis so complex. Zambia is forecast to experience the sharpest deterioration, with crisis-level hunger rising by a staggering 80%.

Madagascar and Mozambique are not far behind, at 75% and 55% respectively. In Madagascar alone, roughly 1 in 10 children under five — around 502,000 — are expected to suffer acute malnutrition between May 2026 and April 2027.

Photo: Ninno JackJr / Unsplash
A child receives food aid at a distribution centre in drought-affected eastern Africa.
Discuss
  • Why might El Niño affect food security differently across six neighbouring countries?
  • What does it tell us that Kenya's overall hunger improves while refugee hunger worsens?
  • Should wealthier nations bear more responsibility for climate-linked food crises they largely caused?
Science

Forever Chemical Found in Village Residents' Blood

In Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire, dozens of residents have received blood test results that are, in one mother's words, "ridiculously off the scale." The culprit is PFOA — a forever chemical linked to cancer — which investigators believe drifted through the air from a nearby AGC Chemicals factory that coated frying pans until 2012. PFOA belongs to the PFAS family, substances so chemically stubborn that they accumulate in soil, eggs, vegetables, and, it turns out, human blood. The WHO classifies PFOA as a Group 1 carcinogen, and the UK banned it in 2020. One local mother described a particular heartbreak: she fears she passed her own chemical burden to her children through breastfeeding. Two allotments near the factory have already been closed.…
  • Should companies that used banned chemicals face direct compensation liability?
∞
"Unless urgent action is taken, 8 million children in East and Southern Africa will face acute hunger by early 2027."
Save the Children, organisational statement
Science

Who Really Picks Your Congressman?

In 435 U.S. congressional districts, most general elections are already decided before a single ballot is cast. The real contest happens earlier — in the primary — and almost nobody is watching. A new book from researchers at UCLA and the University of Pennsylvania studied 55 open-seat House nominations in 2013–14. Across 346 field interviews, one finding kept appearing: ordinary voters are rarely the most powerful force. Instead, organised groups — building-trade unions, faith networks, physicians' associations, feminist organisations — quietly vet candidates, coordinate volunteers and direct money. Their goal, the authors found, is not ideological purity but reliable access: someone who will, as one group put it, "pick up the phone." Which group holds the power shifts dramatically from district to district.…
  • Should voters worry more about primaries than general elections?
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theSIGNAL IN THE LAB
1VOCABULARY
food insecuritycrisis-level hunger
acute malnutritioncarcinogencontamination
displacementaccumulate
2GRAMMAR FOCUS
Dependent prepositions — verb/adjective + preposition patterns
Many verbs and adjectives in English are followed by a fixed preposition that cannot be changed; for example, 'linked to', 'associated with', and 'driven by' are set combinations that must be learned as chunks.
to · by · of · in · from · on · for
  1. Scientists believe PFOA drifted the air from the AGC Chemicals factory in Thornton-Cleveleys.
  2. The sharp rise in hunger levels across six countries is driven one of the strongest El Niño events in recent years.
  3. PFOA is classified the WHO as a Group 1 carcinogen and was banned in the UK in 2020.
  4. In Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province, El Niño arrives top of conflict-driven displacement that has already strained essential services.
  5. Organised groups are primarily interested gaining reliable access to candidates who will respond to their calls.
  6. Local residents are deeply concerned the possibility that their contamination levels may never fall.
3DEPENDENT PREPOSITIONS
Complete each phrase with the correct preposition. All from today's articles.
  1. Food insecurity has jumped ___ more than 40% in the Karamoja region.
  2. El Niño arrives on top ___ conflict-driven displacement in Cabo Delgado.
  3. PFOA is linked ___ cancer and classified as a Group 1 carcinogen.
  4. Organised groups quietly vet candidates and direct money ___ an aim of reliable access.
  5. Two allotments ___ the factory have already been closed by authorities.
4CRITICAL THINKING
The articles reveal that both the hunger crisis and the PFAS contamination involve harm that was foreseeable and, in some cases, preventable. Considering that AGC Chemicals stopped production in 2012 and El Niño patterns are scientifically predictable well in advance, what does the gap between early warning and meaningful action tell us about how institutions prioritise risk — and whose lives tend to be treated as acceptable losses?
5CREATIVE · HEADLINES
Write a headline for the El Niño hunger story in each of the following styles. One line each, no explanation:
  • TABLOID NEWSPAPER
  • LUXURY MAGAZINE
  • ACTIVIST BLOG
6WRITING
The research on congressional primaries suggests that small, organised groups often hold more real political power than the general voting public. Drawing on all three articles, argue whether concentrated, behind-the-scenes influence — whether by lobby groups, chemical manufacturers, or international aid bodies — tends to help or harm the communities most affected by the decisions being made.
7DEGREES OF EXTREMITY
Complete each ladder from mild to strong. Fill in the missing word or phrase from the articles or your own vocabulary.
  • concerned→→
  • hungry→→
  • uncomfortable→→
  • rise→→
  • harmful→→
  • influential→→
8SPEAKING
  1. How should malnutrition data change international aid priorities?
  2. Can breastfeeding mothers ever truly be protected from industrial pollution?
  3. Does naming a chemical 'forever' change how seriously people treat it?
  4. Which organised group would you most trust to vet a politician?