South Africa has been experiencing harsh and extreme climate change impacts. These impacts significantly affect agriculture, human health, and water availability. Climate change has altered seasons in Southern Africa, including South Africa. South Africa is now experiencing heavier rains in most parts of the country. However, the western region is increasingly getting dry. These droughts have caused extreme water unavailability in Cape Town (Western Cape) and Nelson Mandela Bay (Eastern Cape). In 2018, the Western Cape was hit with one of the worst droughts in the region.
South Africa has experienced more than 100 natural disasters from 2000 to 2017, affecting millions of people, causing thousands of fatalities and an estimated loss of 4 5 billion USD. Recently, in 2022, South Africa experienced flooding in KwaZulu-Natal Province, causing over 400 fatalities, more than 12000 houses being destroyed, and more than 40000 people being displaced.
Although South Africa is a post-conflict society, it is still battling issues of the legacy of apartheid and colonialism, as well as high rates of unemployment, poverty, inequality, and low growth. The demands to address these issues, in turn, have limited the government’s efforts to mitigate climate change.
On top of that, South Africa has been affected by regular protests over the lack of essential service delivery, such as the unavailability of water caused by the effects of climate change. The need to put resources into fixing service delivery problems has also derailed government efforts to address climate change.
This Post was submitted by Climate Scorecard South Africa Country Manager Rugare Zhou.
Learn More References
- Department of Environmental Affairs, Long-Term Adaptation Scenarios Flagship Research Programme (LTAS) for South Africa (Pretoria: DEA, 2013).
- DEA, Long-Term Adaptation Scenarios. The former Department of Environmental Affairs is now part of the Environment, Forestry, and Fisheries.
- https://www.greenpeace.org/africa/en/blogs/54171/climate-change-in-south-africa-21-stunning-facts-about-south-africas-climate-breakdown/
- Policy Briefing 262 | THE CLIMATE–CONFLICT NEXUS IN AFRICA: A CONFLICT-SENSITIVE APPROACH
Picture By Thulisile M. Buthelezi, Durban intern