Is Cape Town seeing more extreme storms due to climate change?

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.

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… Read more »

Getting to know CASCADE

Posted by & filed under CSAG Blog, Uncategorized.

09 APRIL 2024 | PHOTO BY ROBYN WALKER. READ TIME 3 mins. The intersection of climate variability, extremes, and long-term change with rapid urbanisation, extensive informality, multi-level governance challenges, and resource constraints, constitutes a critical human health challenge in African cities. Yet a comprehensive and systemic understanding of the intersection of climate hazards and urban health risks is… Read more »

A new era of urban climate health resilience in Africa

Posted by & filed under CSAG Blog, Frontpage, Uncategorized.

30 NOVEMBER 2023 | STORY ALACIA ARMSTRONG. PHOTOS ROBYN WALKER. Read time 4 min. The Cascading Climate and Health Risks in African Cities (CASCADE) consortium was officially launched recently with a focused mission: to advance the understanding of critical urban health challenges faced by African cities and point towards practical and effective interventions. Led by Dr Chris Jack and Professor Bruce… Read more »

September closes out (for now?) extraordinary 2023 winter rainfall season

Posted by & filed under CSAG Blog, CSAG student blog, Frontpage.

In early April, we posted a preliminary assessment of the remarkable series of rainfall events that affected the south-western Cape region from mid-February to late March. That turned out to be just the start of an extraordinarily long and intense rainfall season for the Winter Rainfall Zone. Arguably the most severe storm of the season… Read more »

March 2023 rewrites Table Mountain rainfall record books

Skeleton Gorge Waterfall in Kirstenbosch after heavy rains on Table Mountain in March 2023.

Posted by & filed under CSAG Blog, CSAG student blog, Frontpage, Uncategorized.

Summary An initial look at preliminary March 2023 rainfall data for Table Mountain suggests it was the wettest March in the instrumental record of the “Mountain in the Sea”, going back as far as 1893! This appears to have been mostly the result of four cut-off low systems forming along the west coast during the… Read more »

What do we mean by urban climate justice?

Posted by & filed under CSAG Blog, Frontpage, Uncategorized.

The concept of climate justice has been gaining traction for some time. Broadly speaking, climate justice is about taking a human- and equity-centred approach to thinking about climate risks, responsibilities and potential responses. Like many other big concepts, climate justice is often proposed as important for climate action without careful and critical thought about what… Read more »