Despite international and national responses to the drought, the situation is dire. The government’s response is a lesson in how not to deal with drought.
A consequence of a warming world is prolonged dry spells and periods of drought that can lead to infectious diseases like cholera.
An aerial shot of The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam reservoir filling up. Taken in 2020.
Photo by Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2020
Nile communities carefully monitored and recorded the river’s flow. Centuries later these records are still being used by water resource managers around the world to analyse unpredictable river flows.
Herders at the N'gonga cattle market, Niger: Changing rainfall patterns alter locations of pastures the migrating herders depend on.
Getty Images
Roman Hoffmann, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Changing climatic conditions and ecological hazards are an important migration driver in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Adelaide Desalination Plant will be cranked up to full capacity to free up 100 gigalitres of water from the River Murray for use by farmers.
Sam Mooy/AAP
On two fronts now Morrison, who likes to be in control, is at the mercy of events he can’t control: the drought, and the IMF’s downgrading of Australia’s growth outlook.
The push to ‘drought-proof’ Australia is dangerous nonsense.
AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
We can’t make it rain. But you are already helping if you don’t use more water than you need. And you can talk to your parents about the planet getting warmer, because the heat makes drought worse.
The government has offered emergency payments to drought-stricken farmers. But if we really care about them, we’ll also invest in long-term drought resilience measures to reduce impacts.
The Berg River Dam on 7 March 2018 about 48% full.
Author supplied
It’s important for the city of Cape Town to inspire residential trust in water restrictions. Without this, the harsh effects of the drought will be exacerbated.
Modern desalination plant on the shores of the Arabian Gulf where the most desalinated water is produced.
Shutterstock
Desalination has been proposed as one of many strategies to deal with the water shortages. But the process is known to be expensive and harmful to the environment.
Cape Town’s main storage dam, the Theewaterskloof in May 2017 with 9% of water left in storage.
Kevin Winter
Early warning signs of a pending drought are difficult to recognise but cities will have to be better prepared for prolonged changes in weather patterns, so that it can respond quickly.
Associate Professor, Department of Environmental and Geographical Science and African Climate and Development Initiative Research Chair, University of Cape Town