Somali Journalists Report on Climate Crisis While Living Its Impacts

MOGADISHU, Somalia 5 June, 2026 – On World Environment Day 2026, the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) calls on authorities in Somalia and North Western State of Somalia, as well as international partners, to support and protect environmental journalists and ensure access to information on climate change, environmental degradation, and humanitarian crises. SJS also pays tribute to environmental journalists for their resilience, courage, and dedication to informing the public despite significant challenges and threats.

In a country where climate shocks are reshaping daily life, environmental reporting remains alarmingly scarce. The Horn of Africa is grappling with one of the globe’s most acute climate emergencies, yet reporters covering droughts, floods, deforestation and displacement face intimidation, barriers to information, few safety protections and limited resources for fieldwork.

To help close that coverage gap, SJS, with funding and technical support from Medico International, trained and mentored ten journalists drawn from ten different regions and towns across Somalia and North Western State of Somalia—focusing on areas hardest hit by climate change. The programme aimed to give reporters the skills and backing needed to investigate climate-driven challenges affecting vulnerable communities nationwide.

The 2026 World Environment Day theme, “Protected Environment, Stable Climate, and a Greener Future,” rings painfully true in Somalia and North Western State of Somalia, where repeated droughts, erratic rains, floods, environmental degradation and conflict keep jeopardising livelihoods and forcing families to flee. Millions of Somalis remain exposed to the fallout from a warming planet.

Not Only Storytellers: Journalists in Somalia and North Western State of Somalia have become survivors of the climate crisis

Since the start of January 2026, SJS has logged multiple incidents involving journalists reporting on environmental and humanitarian issues.

Source: Somalia Evictions Information Portal/2025.

In Mogadishu, police have intensified actions against reporters covering forced evictions. Monitoring groups say 195,164 people were affected by forced evictions in 2025, with many operations carried out without warning and accompanied by violence from police and other state security forces. Humanitarian groups report that evictions rose by more than 20 percent between January and May 2026. SJS recorded the arrests of seven journalists — four women and three men — between February and April 2026 for reporting on these evictions.

On 4 March 2026, North Western State of Somalia police in Erigabo, Sanaag region, detained local journalist Mohamed Saleban Ahmed, known as Suute, after he published a report on drought conditions in Sool and Sanaag. He was held for two days before release and later charged with “spreading false information.” Court papers reviewed by SJS show the North Western State of Somalia government listed as the complainant. Suute’s reporting included testimony from rural communities who said they had not received humanitarian aid despite severe hardship.

The prosecution unfolded even after North Western State of Somalia itself acknowledged the crisis: in July 2025 the region declared a national drought emergency affecting four regions. President Abdirahman Abdillahi Irro appealed for international assistance, and UN assessments later found that more than 650,000 people had been affected by drought across North Western State of Somalia; aid agencies estimated over 80 percent of rural households faced severe water shortages and crop losses.

In another case on 26 May 2026, South West State police in Baidoa arrested journalist Abdirahman Hassan Mohamed after he interviewed women khat traders who said federal security forces had looted their goods and mobile phones during an operation. Reporters in Baidoa say threats and intimidation have increased while covering political tensions and clashes between forces aligned with the Federal Government and those loyal to former South West State leader Abdiaziz Laftagareen. Armed confrontations on 30 May 2026 caused casualties and compounded humanitarian needs in the area.

Here in Barkadda Shariifadda village, about 13 km west of Kismayo, Jubaland, on 16 March 2026, women wait for the arrival of a water trucking vehicle brought by an NGO from Kismayo. This is the only water the community can access to survive. | PHOTO/ABDULLAAHI HUSSEIN KILAS/ KAAB TV.

Humanitarian agencies meanwhile warn of “a growing risk of famine” in parts of South West State, notably Buurhakaba district, where prolonged drought and conflict continue to devastate communities.

On 28 May 2026, police in Las Anod arrested journalist Khadar Tarabi after a Facebook post about a Puntland State minister’s visit to Kalabaydh in the Sool region — an area facing both climate stress and security tensions. Media workers in Las Anod told SJS they face restrictions and intimidation when trying to independently cover local conflicts and humanitarian conditions.

In late May 2026, fighting between clan militias in a rural part of Sool left people dead, homes destroyed and civilians displaced after a dispute over a new settlement. Reporters say they have struggled to reach affected villages, hampering independent coverage and denying the public clear information about the human toll.

Across Somalia, relief efforts remain badly underfunded. Global economic pressures, rising food and fuel costs and restricted humanitarian access in Al-Shabaab-held areas have all complicated assistance. Civilians from inaccessible zones continue to move toward government-controlled towns seeking aid and safety.

A Somali woman stands outside her sand-covered home in Kulub village, Mudug region, highlighting the impacts of climate change. | PHOTO/SAID ABDULLAHI KULMIYE.

The SJS Climate Journalists Network reports widespread crop failures and livestock deaths in Jubaland, deepening food insecurity and eroding livelihoods. In early January, Jubaland State warned that the severe drought had displaced thousands and left roughly 1.5 million people needing urgent humanitarian relief.

In Afmadow district near the Kenyan border, journalists described thousands of newly displaced families sheltering in makeshift sites after losing livestock and income to prolonged drought and failed rains.

SJS stresses that journalists are not only chroniclers of climate impacts; many are personally affected by the crisis.

In Baidoa, where internally displaced persons make up about two-thirds of the population, numerous journalists supported by SJS come from displaced households or families hit by drought and food insecurity. Comparable conditions are reported across Gedo and other parts of Jubaland.

In Beledweyne and Jowhar, Hirshabelle State, repeated flooding has forced family members from their homes and disrupted livelihoods, directly touching the lives of local reporters.

“in many parts of Somalia and somaliland, Women journalists face particular vulnerabilities, especially those serving as primary income earners for their households. The economic and social pressures created by climate-related disasters have disproportionately affected women media workers and their families,” — said SJS Secretary General, Abdalle Mumin.

Recognising these realities, SJS has moved beyond training alone. Alongside mentoring environmental reporters, the syndicate has provided direct support and emergency aid to journalists with urgent humanitarian needs, helping them sustain their reporting while coping with the crisis at home.

On World Environment Day 2026, SJS reiterated its pledge to promote environmental journalism and back those who report on climate change and humanitarian emergencies. The organisation urged authorities in Somalia and North Western State of Somalia to protect journalists, halt harassment and arbitrary arrests, and guarantee access to information that serves the public interest.

“Somali journalists play a vital role in exposing the impacts of climate change, but many are also among those affected by droughts, floods, displacement, and economic hardship. As both witnesses and survivors of the climate crisis, they deserve greater protection and support to continue their essential work,” — Mr. Mumin added.