South Africa is among the 30th most water-stressed countries in the world. Since the beginning of the 2010s, the country has been trapped in a series of multi-year droughts, exacerbated by a rapidly heating planet as well as the long-term effects of El Niño. Average temperatures for the period 2010-2020 were the highest on record, and that translates into real problems for all communities. According to the State of the Climate Report in Africa 2019 report by the World Meteorological Organisation, temperatures in Africa have been rising somewhat faster than the global mean surface temperature. It adds that "the areas most severely affected by drought in 2019 were in southern Africa and were many of the same areas that were also affected by a protracted drought in 2014-2016", writes Roland Ngam for Daily Maverick.
Although climate change is a global phenomenon, its impacts are felt at the regional and local levels, and it is at these levels where actions ... see more »
The City of Cape Town has urged residents to use water sparingly after water levels in dams supplying the Cape metro declined by 0.6% to 54.3% of total capacity. Cape Town ... Read more »
As a high-level meeting by the Department of Water and Sanitation assesses whether the severe water restrictions in Cape Town and surrounding areas can be relaxed, residents of ... Read more »
The drought crisis has left a lasting mark on Cape Town and officials are touting the experience as a valuable lesson in water management that could help other water-scarce cities ... Read more »
Theewaterskloof Dam, located on the Sonderend River and the largest source of water for Cape Town at the height of Cape Town's 2017 water crisis (file photo).
AllAfrica publishes around 400 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.
Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.
AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa - aggregating, producing and distributing 400 news and information items daily from over 100 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington DC.
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
