Eastern Cape drought

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The Eastern Cape region of South Africa experienced a severe multi-year drought from 2015 through early 2020.[1][2] The drought was one of the worst in the region's history and led the South African government to declare the region a "disaster area" in October 2019.[3]

A local hydrologist, Gideon Groenewald, has stated that it could be the worst drought the area as experienced in one thousand years[4][5] and has had serious negative socioeconomic impacts on the region.[6] Heavy rains in 2019 were not enough to break the drought.[7][8] Reasons cited for the severity of the drought include poor water management by local government, unpredictable rainfall patterns,[9] and vandalism of local infrastructure.[10] Areas of the Eastern Cape that overlap with the Karoo, such as the area around Graaff-Reinet, have been especially badly hit.[11][12] The drought has caused projected financial losses of R6.4 billion in livestock production, with extensive livestock areas accounting for some 5,600 jobs.[13] The drought started to take place at the same time as the Cape Town water crisis.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Eastern Cape hardest hit by drought". DispatchLIVE. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  2. ^ Archer, Emma; du Toit, Justin; Engelbrecht, Christien; Hoffman, M. Timm; Landman, Willem; Malherbe, Johan; Stern, Maryke (2022-01-01). "The 2015-19 multi year drought in the Eastern Cape, South Africa: it's evolution and impacts on agriculture". Journal of Arid Environments. 196: 104630. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2021.104630. hdl:2263/82898. ISSN 0140-1963.
  3. ^ Ellis, Estelle. "Maverick Citizen: Eastern Cape Drought: Eastern Cape finally declared a drought disaster area". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  4. ^ Miller, Andrew (2019-10-31). "South Africa Suffers Worst Drought in 1,000 Years". theTrumpet.com. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  5. ^ Ellis, Estelle. "Maverick Citizen: Drought: Eastern Cape: 'The worst drought in a thousand years'". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  6. ^ Bernardo, Carla (6 March 2020). "Eastern Cape spring is getting drier – here's why". University of Cape Town.
  7. ^ "Drought crisis in Eastern Cape not over despite heavy rains". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  8. ^ "Not enough rain yet to fill dams, says expert". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  9. ^ "The real water crisis: Not understanding what's needed". The Mail & Guardian. 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  10. ^ "Eastern Cape drought: Vandals make matters worse for water-starved Graaff-Reinet residents". News24. 2020-02-24. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  11. ^ Ellis, Estelle. "Maverick Citizen: Eastern Cape drought: Graaff-Reinet celebrates as Nqweba Dam fills up". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  12. ^ "Eastern Cape remains in grip of drought". SABC News - Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa's news leader. 2020-01-01. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  13. ^ "EASTERN CAPE STATUS OF DROUGHT, ITS EFFECTS AND STATE OF READINESS FOR CROPPING" (PDF). Eastern Cape Rural Development and Agrarian Reform. November 2019.
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