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.
The Climate System Analysis Group (CSAG) based at the University of Cape Town will be running its annual course: Winter School: Using climate information for adaptation and policy development, from 2-6 July 2018. This 1 week intensive course has been developed specifically for participants from developing country and aims to take participants through the full spectrum… Read more »
The sooner we know the answer, the sooner we can prepare for summer 2019 By Peter Johnston and Piotr Wolski 15 March 2018 The approaching autumn and winter season in Cape Town is being keenly awaited to see if it will bring sufficient rain to end, or at least alleviate, the drought. If… Read more »
“If the answer to climate change in cities is about a better understanding of policy, values and justice, should we be looking to IPCC for information? Will data and technology give us the answers?” The intervention above one was of the more poignant offered during the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) conference on climate… Read more »
Peter Johnston, University of Cape Town Much has been written about the ongoing drought and critical water shortages in the city of Cape Town. Residents are bracing themselves for Day Zero – the moment at which most of the city’s domestic taps will run dry. But there’s also a great deal to worry about beyond… Read more »
I was asked to write a short piece for an independent Russian (!) media outlet—to be translated—to contribute to answering the title question from a climatological perspective. I’ve been asked to post this to the blog here, having made adapted it slightly for a more South African audience: It is important to distinguish between the… Read more »
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 »