The Palmiet Lagoon turned into a raging on 24 September 2023, following extreme rainfall in its catchment area associated with a deep cut-off low.
The Palmiet Lagoon turned into a raging torrent on 24 September 2023, following extreme rainfall in its catchment area associated with a deep cut-off low.

Posted by & filed under Climate Change, CSAG Blog, CSAG student blog, Current research, Modeling, Research.

By Sabina Abba Omar & Stefaan Conradie

A major cut-off low event is currently wrecking havoc across large parts of South Africa, most notably around Kariega. This follows another severe cut-off low storm that hit the Western Cape between 6 and 9 April 2024 after a series of destructive wind and rain storms between June 2022 and September 2023.

The highest daily rainfall total on record for the Cape Flats was measured at the airport on 13 June 2022. Parts of Cape Town saw their wettest March and September on record in 2023. Heavy rain caused major river flooding in June 2023 along the western mountains of South Africa. 

Consequently, questions are being raised regarding the possible role of climate change in these severe weather events. Is climate change making cut-off lows around Cape Town more frequent and more intense? In a piece published in The Conversation, Sabina Abba Omar and Stefaan Conradie of CSAG address these questions. We look at different weather systems responsible for such storms, observations of past events and projections for the future. We conclude that competing factors currently preclude a clear answer, despite evidence that extreme rainfall events are intensifying in other parts of South Africa.

Read our piece here: https://theconversation.com/cape-of-storms-climate-researchers-explain-cape-towns-recent-extreme-weather-229012

For a more in-depth perspective, please see our extended companion blog here.

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