Water Shortages: From Climate Change to Cape Town

Margaret Capetz

       Record-breaking global temperatures. Heat-induced bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef. Extreme heat in Asia. Unusually warm “Blob” off the coast of Alaska. All these events occurred in 2016, the hottest year ever recorded. The single cause that these severe occurrences have in common? Climate change (Harvey). Although climate change causes many major disturbances such as those listed, it is also the cause of the silent deadliness of droughts, including the recent California drought and the current water shortage crisis in Africa. Climate change is behind the suffering of almost one billion individuals—1 in 8 people—who do not have access to safe, fresh water and food (“The Water”).

       Africa has experienced more than 131 droughts in recent years, which exceeds the number of droughts in any other continent from 1994 to 2013 (Toesland). The growing issue of climate change has affected the severity of droughts with higher temperatures and diminished rainfall (“As Drought”). The ongoing water shortages in Africa, partly caused by climate change, damage the population economically and socially.

       To begin, climate change impacts the African economy’s agriculture and coal mining industries. These economic sectors are very significant, as 65% of African workers work in the agricultural industry (Toesland) and the South African coal mining industry accounts for 90% of its electrical generating capacity (“As Drought”). Since the agricultural industry is a necessity for employment and harvest, its large water consumption is reasonable and justifiable. However, coal mining electric utilities not only increase climate change and its detrimental effects but also directly increase water scarcity. For example, a South African facility called Eskom consumes approximately 6.9 billion gallons of water annually. Africa’s water shortages, especially in South Africa, result in fewer resources needed in order to support the agricultural and coal mining sectors of the economy. 

       In addition, the results of climate change and water shortages range from general social issues within public health and development, as well as specific crises such as Cape Town, South Africa. The World Health Organization states that water crises cause malnutrition, an increased spread of disease, and health problems, especially in children (“As Climate”). Across the world, an estimated 1.6 million individuals die every year from diseases linked to inaccessibility to clean water supply, insufficient sanitation, and poor hygiene (Tarrass). Currently, Cape Town is becoming increasingly close to Day Zero: the day that a city runs out of its water supply and has to cut off the tap to its residents. Located in South Africa, this town is especially prone to climate change effects and water shortages (Thompson). Cape Town’s water crisis demonstrates a direct and current social link to the detrimental outcomes of water shortages. 

       Climate change has increased the frequency and extent of water shortages, leading to heightened impacts on both the African economy and society. These effects have accumulated to the current water crises throughout Africa, specifically within South Africa’s Cape Town. However, there is hope in the new South African administration’s plans to increase investment in sustainable energy sources, instead of coal, as well as many organizations that are trying to solve the inaccessibility to water, including Water Aid and The Water Project. Africa is already on the path to combatting climate change and bringing safe, clean water to not only the South Africans in crisis but to Africa as a whole.

Works Cited

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       and Human Development.” Perspectives in Public Health, U.S. National Library of Medicine,             Sept. 2012, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22991372.

“The Water Crisis: Poverty and Water Scarcity in Africa.” The Water Project, 

       thewaterproject.org/why-water/poverty. This source outlines The Water Project, a human-driven         organization to relieve the water crisis in Africa and end poverty once and for all. 

Thompson, Barton, and Sharon Driscoll. “Running Out of Water: Cape Town, the U.S., 

       and Drought.” Stanford Law School, law.stanford.edu/2018/02/06/running-out-of-water-cape-             town-the-u-s-and-drought/.

Toesland, Finbarr. "New ways to manage climate-change risk: an African Union agency 

       is setting up an insurance pool for African countries to take the lead in insuring against natural             disasters." African Business, Mar. 2016, p. 34+. Global Issues in Context, 

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