Early in 2018 a drought, made worse by climate change, meant that taps in the City of Cape Town almost ran dry. This would have been the first time a major South African city’s water supply was threatened, but is not unprecedented globally. Climate change is bringing about changes in rainfall patterns. In South Africa, this means we are having to become accustomed to a drier, water scarce environment, and all of the accompanying repercussions.
While the drought in Cape Town has receded after a winter season of decent rain, the city is alert to the fact that we skirted disaster, and there is a general awareness that we are facing a new normal. Together with WWF South Africa we scripted and released a radio drama about the importance of water, the effect climate change is having on water availability, and how people can respond. It is a 5 part series, aired in isiXhosa on Sibonele FM, a community radio station in Cape Town. We have uploaded the episodes to our website where you’ll be able to listen to and download them.
Changing our personal behaviour to address the impacts of climate change, and lessening our own impact on the climate is important. That being said, the speed and scale of climate change is such that we need to go beyond our own lifestyle changes and make sure our leaders are committed to keeping fossil fuels in the ground – and acting on that commitment. You can join us by joining or registering a local group and taking action.