More #ClimateImpacts stories from our community:
Lumba, Western Cape
I recently (month of September 2019) travelled back home to Malawi. What I noted was that the environment keeps deteriorating with rivers losing water holds and marginal lands becoming almost bare due to soaring changes in perpetual diurnal temperatures. Worst affected is the eco-diversity in which flora, that beautified sceneries, no longer blossoming and nocturnal sounds of the fauna keeps dwindling.
Jean, Western Cape
I did everything I could think of to counteract the drought in Cape Town - borehole water which was so salty it killed my grass… I quickly learned that the best plants were South African and they had to be both drought and heat tolerant.
Jen, KwaZulu-Natal
Being a canoeist we are seeing our big races such as Drak Challenge, Dusi and Umko being pushed later in the canoeing year to try to find a time when the rivers have enough water to paddle on. Insect life cycles are being interrupted and we are seeing adult forms of insects emerging months earlier as the heat is so intense that their larval host plants are not available to them.
Thapelo, Limpopo
As a farmer, I am unable to grow my crops as I depended entirely on rain and the soil conditions that are becoming more unsuitable. This has affected my water access and the intense heat is unbearable. I can no longer work as I used to.
Mark, Gauteng
Here in Johannesburg we have been experiencing very high temperatures... It is now well into Spring and we've had barely any rain. It normally starts raining at the end of September, with consistent thunderstorms for which Johannesburg is famous. It is now almost the end of October and we've had two short cloudbursts which is creating a lot of pressure on water supplies.
|