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.
With the Western Cape drought now making international headlines on the BBC, the New York Times, and elsewhere, CSAG staff are receiving daily requests for interviews and information about the drought both locally and internationally. The world is now watching to see if Cape Town will be the first major city to actually run… Read more »
Ah, what a drama! Armageddon cometh! We are going to die! If not of disease and agony of thirst, then surely of bad smell, dirty clothes or from the hand of thy neighbour, who, at some stage of desiccation, will transform zombie-style into a Mad Max styled warrior armed with a post-apocaliptic, serrated water bucket…… Read more »
This blog is an extended version of the article published in GroundUp The nature of Cape Town’s water crisis remains a hotly contested issue. There is drought, of course. But there are also possible other reasons brought up in the public discourse, particularly in the social media, such as population and water demand growth, unreported… Read more »
By Ntanganedzeni Ramugondo How do you take “it” easy in a world moving so fast? What do you even take? Everybody wants in but not everybody wants in. Clearly everyone has an opinion, but what we can all agree on is that we all benefit from a clean healthy low carbon concentration world…. Read more »
When I was asked to write a blog that might contribute to a platform of knowledge and skills to address complex social and environmental problems, I had been grappling with several such problems in my own life. To note two in particular; the protests at the University of Cape Town (UCT), calling for free higher… Read more »
Piotr Wolski has produced a tool to assess the current and projected state of the Western Cape Dams: The “Big Six Monitor” The “Big Six Monitor” – http://cip.csag.uct.ac.za/monitoring/bigsix.html shows the amount of water in the major Western Cape Water Supply System (WCWSS) dams currently and in the recent past. Additionally, it shows the storage… Read more »
By Piotr Wolski Originally published by GroundUp Journalists and the general public are asking many questions about the Western Cape drought. What is meant by a drought? Why is the drought happening? Where exactly is the drought occurring? Is this drought caused by climate change? Could it have been predicted? Should we not expect it… Read more »
Piotr Wolski has written an article titled: What about rainwater harvesting? for the UCT News Site. “The winter rains of 2017 are effectively finished. Recent analyses indicate that, with current use and without further interventions, water currently stored in the Western Cape’s water supply system dams will not last until the next significant rains, which are… Read more »
At this stage we all know the context, and I don’t think there is a need for extra explanations. So let me be as brief as possible. Drought. Big city. Disaster management plan. Day Zero. Everyone blames everyone. There. You have it. From my perspective (rooted in data and facts) the time has come to… Read more »