The Limpopo Basin is shared by four countries, Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. Long-Term Spatiotemporal Variation of Droughts in the Amazon River Basin. There are four such centres covering the whole of Africa, with the SADC Climate Services Centre being the only one in the SADC region. Drought indicators for South Africa. 2005). Western Cape Province in South Africa is going through a severe drought, affecting in particular the highly populated urban area of Cape Town and its water supply. The 2018–20 Southern Africa drought is an ongoing period of drought taking place in Southern Africa. Statistical and trend analysis done using SPI time series derived from rainfall observations have shown that most parts of South Africa In countries like Malawi and Zimbabwe, small-scale farmers who are entirely dependent on rainfall will struggle to produce any crops this year. The total catchment is approximately 408,000 The immediate cause of meteorological drought over South Africa is the persistence of an upper level anticyclone over and west of Botswana, mainly during summers of strong Pacific El Niño: 1983, 1992, 2003 and 2015 (Reason 2016; Mahlalela et al., 2020). The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) was used to analyse the meteorological drought and the Standardized Runoff Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisher-ies. Drought and its associated impacts have been causing critical problems for agriculture, vulnerable communities and overall development for many years in South Africa. The South African Weather Service (SAWS) (2016b) defines a meteorological drought “… on the basis of the degree of dryness in comparison to normal or average amounts of rainfall for a particular area or place and the duration of the dry period”. Southern Africa suffered extensive drought in 2019. References & Resources. August 28, 2000. These droughts have affected even the wetter eastern provinces including KwaZulu-Natal. Today, the lakes around Cape Town are brimming with water, but it was only a few years ago that South Africa… The natural event (i.e., meteorological drought) is a result of the occurrence of persistent large-scale disruptions in the global circulation pattern of the atmosphere. Because of this, it is very region specific - what may be a meteorological drought in South Africa won’t necessarily be the same in Canada. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products and climate data downloaded from Application for Extracting and Ex … The Disaster Management Act [6] is the leading legislative instrument guiding South Africa’s response to drought. The Western Cape province in South Africa experienced overall below average rainfall over the period 2015-2017. A prolonged drought could lead to famine. historical, current as well as future meteorological drought trends are computed using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). A drought is an event of prolonged shortages in the water supply, whether atmospheric (below-average precipitation), surface water or ground water.A drought can last for months or years, or may be declared after as few as 15 days. 2007; Louati et al. South Africa's agricultural industry employs over 800,000 people. Overview of 2007 drought and impacts. A meteorological drought occurs when rainfall is less than average over a significant period, often a month. Mean annual precipitation is <500 mm while potential evaporation is >2000 mm. The Limpopo Basin is shared by four countries, Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. Drought and its associated impacts have been causing critical problems for agriculture, vulnerable communities and overall development for many years in South Africa. We can also think about hydrological drought, or how decreased precipitation affects streamflow, soil moisture, reservoir and … Table 2. [10] ... and even parts of Africa and Southeast Asia. [8] In the Horn of Africa, the 1984-1985 drought led to a famine, which killed 750,000 people. Few nations in eastern and southern Africa use drought predictions adequately. The meteorological drought experienced in the region could impact the next lean season. Meteorological and climatological drought is defined in terms of the magnitude of a precipitation shortfall and the duration of this shortfall event. Agricultural drought is typically evident after meteorological drought but before a hydrological drought. The South African weather service defines a drought as a period of 12 moths when [9] In the United States, the West has experienced less rain over the past 50 years, as well as increases in the severity and length of droughts; this has been especially of concern in the Southwest. First, the 10 spatial and temporal variation of the meteorological and hydrological drought severity and intensity over the catchment were evaluated. Africa is a good example of great vulnerability to drought and desertification and a seemingly inability to manage these climate based issues. Pretoria, South Africa. Traditionally, the broad definition of drought in South Africa has been seasonal rainfall less than 70% of normal (Bruwer, 1990). et al. The Zambezi River in the north and the Limpopo River on the south, form Zimbabwe [s borders with Zambia and South Africa respectively. Currently, except in a few places (Northern, Eastern and Western Cape and pockets of Limpopo) there is … D1 is the least intense level and D4 the most intense. The research methodology consists mainly of three parts. In light of the recurrent dry spells across Southern Africa in general and South Africa in particular, analyses and assessment of meteorological drought is critical in making informed decisions for better management of the ever-meager water resources and to proactively develop future water supply and allocation strategies. Meteorological Drought is based on the degree of dryness or rainfall deficit and the length of the dry period. The main objective of the study is to understand the changes in rainfall patterns for a period of 48 years (i.e., 1970 to 2017) and identify wet and dry years. A lack of precipitation is the most common definition of drought and is usually the type of drought referred to in news reports and the media. A meteorological drought occurs when rainfall is less than average over a significant period, often a month. ... swana region located in southern Africa. Droughts often lead to famines and result in the deaths of humans, animals, and plants. Yet high costs, combined with low availability, mean only 20% of the country’s commercial grain farmers have drought insurance, according to the SAIA document. These limited water resources are affected by weather extremes imposed by climate variability and change. Convective mid-summer precipitation in the north-east is contrasted with stratiform winter rains in the west. Flooding also affected the Sahel and surrounding areas from May to October 2019. An assessment of remote sensing-based drought index over different land cover types in southern Africa Farai Maxwell Marumbwaa*, Moses Azong Chob,c and Paxie Chirwad aCentre for Environmental studies, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa bNatural Resources and Environment Unit, The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), P.O. This is known as a meteorological drought, which is highly specific to a region as average precipitation may vary considerably across locations. Box The City of Cape Town has introduced the idea of Day Zero to focus everyone's attention on managing water consumption as tightly as possible by cajoling water consumers into reducing usage. Day Zero is when most of the city's taps will be switched off - literally. The consequences of reaching this point will be far reaching. The Climate Services Centre was established in 1990 as the Drought Monitoring Centre. A deficit of rainfall over cropped areas during critical periods of the growth cycle can result in destroyed or underdeveloped crops with greatly depleted yields. Hier günstiger buchen Extreme drought events in southern Africa are the result of a number of atmospheric circulation interactions (Tyson, 1986; Lindesay, 1998) with some droughts and periods of reduced rainfall, for example, connected with ENSO events. Along the south-eastern seaboard of Africa, a drought-prone area is found between the humid subtropics and a deser. Africa needs to prepare better for climate change by responding to a wide range of potential risks, a multi-agency report led by the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Monday, the first in a series of continent-by-continent assessments. By Franklin Paredes and humberto barbosa. It is a creeping phenomenon that slowly sneaks up and impacts many sectors of the economy, and operates on many different time scales. Awange, J.L. Drought, on the other hand, is the absence of water. Southern Africa is particularly susceptible to climate variability and drought and is increasingly being threatened by desertification processes, degradation of land and water resources and loss of biodiversity. 2016. One recent NASA study revealed that a drought that’s been affecting the eastern Mediterranean Levant region since 1998 is … - Meteorological drought These types of droughts are usually determined by the degree of dryness in the area and the duration of the dry spell. In an interview with Africa Check, SAWS climate information manager, Elsa de Jager, reported that FEWSNET (2017, February 21) Persistent drought in Somalia leads to major food security crisis. The first tool developed by AgriMetSoft is MDM(Meteorological Drought Monitor). (2016, August) Exploring hydro-meteorological drought patterns over the Greater Horn of Africa (1979–2014) using remote sensing and reanalysis products. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) was computed for October to December (OND) and January to March (JFM) summer subseasons for Free State Province, South Africa, to assess the influence of altitude on drought severity and frequency. A hydrological drought occurs when a meteorological drought significantly reduces the availability of water resources in rivers, lakes and underground. drought; climate-change detection; climate extremes; event attribution; large ensemble simulations; The Day Zero Cape Town drought was one of the worst water crises ever experienced in a metropolitan area (1, 2).Droughts are a regular occurrence in southwestern South Africa (SSA), having occurred during the late 1920s, early 1970s, and, more recently, during 2003–2004 (Fig. Only 30% of the country receives 500 mm per annum or more. The 2011 uS drought covered southern states; Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico were most adversely affected. 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