As parts of the Western Cape grapple with the aftermath of a destructive weather system that tore off rooftops and submerged roads, Daily Maverick spoke to experts who explained what happened and why it may happen again.
Over the weekend in the Western Cape, nature’s fury was unleashed with seemingly unprecedented intensity, with rooftops ripped off, roads submerged and communities cut off from the outside world. In what is almost certainlyin the province’s recent history, the Heritage Day weekend saw more rain in three days than in the previous two months.In the Kalk Bay area, a spectacle unfolded as huge waves pounded the harbour.
“We’ve had more rainfall over the last three days than we have in two winter months, so it’s been phenomenal.” “So it’s not uncommon,” she clarified. “But it hasn’t been as intense as what we’ve experienced over the weekend and in a fair number of years.”reported in June that Dr Piotr Wolski, the chief research officer for hydroclimatology at CSAG, said, “If we look at total rainfall between January and now … at some locations, this year’s values are the highest on the recent record ”.
He said that statistically it appeared that in recent years there had been a trend towards more flood events.Western Cape Climate Change Response Strategy: Vision 2050 “So this is the main issue and climate change may not be directly responsible for what happened this weekend, but it is making conditions suitable for heavy rainfall more likely. So there’s always a higher likelihood of extreme rainfall as the temperature increases and this is what we’re seeing. We know that the temperature is increasing. We see it every decade, there’s no doubt about it whatsoever.
climate change extremeist groups don’t speak for everyone, and especially not for rational, science-based experts who overwhelmingly agree that there will be an increase in the intensity and volitality of weather events. climate is defined in terms of decades, not years, and the long-term trends supporting a warming in the earth’d atmoshpere are starting to be more and more evident.
Our planet cannot sustain one greedy species, breeding out of control, something has to break – THE EXTINCTION OF MANKIND… The current iteration of the climate movement has a very strong belief based character to it and as such I’m inclined to caution when engaging with it in the same way as I would with any other kind of religious fundamentalism.No matter the cause, an issue that can be addressed is planning and assessing risks per the development of flood prone areas, whether they be on the coast or inland.The cost of planning is far less than the cost of coping with avoidable issues.
The fact that there are no measured records of South Africa before 1841 so it has been deemed impossible to measure if the much vaunted Climate Change or Global Warming has had any impact on SA’s climate or weather patterns.Note that Gift of the Givers is helping. Government ie CR or others have yet to even comment. Dont expect help they hate the well run WP.Opinions are formed by one’s exposure and ability to distill information.
If you wouldn’t try to tell an oncologist that you know more about cancer than they do; if you wouldn’t tell a financial advisor that you know more about investing than they do; if you wouldn’t tell a wool farmer that you know more about sheep than they do – then kindly keep silent when meteorologists and climatologists say what is happening.
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