Independent UK
Cape Town is in the grip of a drought widely regarded as the worst in recorded history – one that could see it become the first city in the world to run out of water.
The city is edging closer to a day – known locally as “Day Zero” – when supplies are so low authorities will have to cut off water to three quarters of the population.
Far from being a hypothetical scenario, Day Zero has a set date. It is currently expected on 9 July.
The perfect storm of conditions that led to this drought, specifically three consecutive years of extremely low rainfall, would generally be expected no more than once in a millennium.
Predicting such “freak” events is tricky for scientists, but one thing is clear: climate change appears to have played a significant role in the Cape’s current misfortune, and it is set to make such events far more likely in the years to come.
Scientists have long suspected climate change has a hand in natural disasters such as droughts, flooding and hurricanes.
However, until relatively recently they have lacked sufficient data to support these suspicions.
While the link between a warming world and increased incidence of droughts may seem obvious, even here the complexity of the natural systems involved mean it can be difficult to draw direct links.
But in the Cape, where a cycle of wet and dry years is the natural course of things, there is evidence that global warming has caused the usual dry spell to intensify significantly.
Read more at https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/cape-town-drought-day-zero-climate-change-global-warming-south-africa-a8236511.html.
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