CSAG is a leading international climate research centre based in Africa with broad research skills and competency in both physical and social dimensions of climate, a strong experience in engaging with society, and an excellent track record in capacity development. We prioritize societally relevant research to support responses to climate variability and change.
In 1938 Guy Callendar published a paper, “The artificial production of carbon dioxide and its influence on temperature” and showed that the world temperature has increased at an average rate of 0.005°C per year during the previous 50 years and linked these changes to carbon dioxide (CO2). Since then it has been estimated that human… Read more »
Theory of change (ToC)… the concept strikes fear in the hearts of many people working in the field of development aid or applied research. Because of the poor application of this framework in many cases, it’s usually associated with additional, onerous tasks of visualising and mapping objectives and pathways towards these, as well as tracking… Read more »
Twice as fast as the globe? In one of the brief speeches at the Climate Strike event in front of SA parliament last Friday, a statement was broadcasted over the heads of the (unfortunately) moderately sized crowd that “South Africa is warming twice as fast as the globe”. That’s not the first time I’ve heard… Read more »
Written by: Alice McClure There is no way by which the events of the world can be directly transmitted or recorded in our brains; they are experienced and constructed in a highly subjective way, which is different in every individual to begin with, and differently reinterpreted or reexperienced whenever they are recollected. Our only truth is… Read more »
Written by: Farirai Rusere (PhD Fellow) South Africa is generally considered as a food secure nation. However, most rural households that engage in rainfed agriculture are food insecure. Climate change has increased the risks and uncertainties associated with rainfed agriculture. South Africa small scale farmers are not immune to these impacts. The impacts of climate change… Read more »
The Climate System Analysis Group (CSAG) based at the University of Cape Town will be running its annual course. This 1 week intensive course has been developed specifically for participants from developing country and aims to take participants through the full spectrum of climate and climate change related topics. These include understanding: Climate dynamics and… Read more »
I’ve recently attended a conference outside Africa and noticed that many people at the conference knew where Mozambique was located. And Mozambique happens to be where I’m from. Almost every year there is a weather related hazard affecting Mozambique due to its geographical location and many other social factors. To compound these hazards, there has… Read more »
I don’t know about you, but I personally struggle with finding sense in the contemporary world in the face of climate change, but also in general, in the face of the contemporary world. I’m a scientist, a hydro-climatologist. I work with climate data. I read scientific papers. I know Clausius-Clapeyron equation. I know the planet… Read more »
Due to climate change, the climate system is undergoing a shift towards a new climate state. Locally, the effects of this transitioning has been described by the Western Cape Government (WCG): “South Africa isn’t safe from the effects of climate change. In 2015, South Africa recorded its lowest annual rainfall since 1904. In the same… Read more »