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Climate Change in Cape Town

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Submitted By roymichaelh
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Stretching for 294km around the Southern coast of Africa (City of Cape Town), Cape Town is a very special place. The Mother City is one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world and is home to the Cape Floristic Region, a protected World Heritage Site (SANParks). Cape Town has a Mediterranean climate. Table Mountain and the cold Benguella Current of the South Atlantic Ocean, among others, have an impact on local climate (Encyclopaedia Britannica). The different ecosystems rely on warm and cold temperatures, winds, rainfall, and even fire to flourish.

Due to historical issues such as Apartheid, the almost 4 million residents of Cape Town (City of Cape Town) are often times racially divided in terms of physical housing locations. Some areas are much more impoverished than others, causing the effects of climate change to be felt more intensely and mitigation efforts to be more difficult (Ziervogel, Shale and Du).

Climate change is largely attributed to global warming. In a nutshell, this involves greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide to collect and form a layer in the atmosphere. The sun’s heat is then trapped in the atmosphere, causing a rise in the planet’s average temperature (NRDC). This collection of meteorological phenomena poses threats to the planet and the people living in it. Three different effects of climate change in Cape Town will be discussed, explaining the factors leading up to these, how the local people are affected, as well as mitigation efforts and the effectiveness thereof.

Coastal Zones: Global warming, as described, causes thermal expansion of the water of the oceans. Another contributor to the rise of the sea level is the melting of the glaciers. This has many effects, including increased saltwater intrusion, higher tides, more flooding and increased coastal erosions. In some areas, developments have taken place too close to the coastline, increasing its vulnerability to these impacts (Mukheibir and Ziervogel). Some of these highly vulnerable areas include popular family and tourist destinations like Camps Bay, Blouberg, the Strand beachfront and Muizenberg (Mail and Guardian Staff Writer). A study shows that a one meter rise in sea level will cause up to hundreds of millions of Rands in damage (1 U.S. Dollar is worth approximately 10 South African Rands) (Mukheibir and Ziervogel). In addition to an eroding and “disappearing” coastline, there will be more and bigger storms as the oceans continue to expand in size and temperature. Warm water is a key ingredient to the recipe of a large storm. As there will be more likelihood for precipitation, more inhabitants of the city, especially those nearer to the coast, will experience damages to property due to flooding.

Some mitigation efforts like breakwaters have been brought into place, but that certainly doesn’t solve the whole problem. The City of Cape Town continues to be more and more at risk. Much planning has seemingly been done at a national level, but has not been adapted and implemented at a municipal level. A municipal adaptation plan has been drawn up to make this happen. The coast will be protected through more developments compensating for the effects of sea-level rise. This includes more breakwaters, revetments and sea walls, and will protect infrastructure from waves. Ribbon development close to the shoreline will be avoided to decrease the risk for new infrastructure (Mukheibir and Ziervogel).

Stormwater and sanitation: During the dry summer months, sand from the Cape Flats blows into the drains of surrounding houses and other buildings. Leaves in the fall make this worse. The drains get blocked, and during the rainy winter, causes much flooding and damage to infrastructure. In informal settlements (like in the Cape Flats), there is no proper drainage infrastructure, which worsens the situation. In these lower income areas, poor sanitation magnifies the disaster, as sewage pipes often get blocked and pollutes other water supplies like dams and reservoirs, which are filled up during the rainy and stormy season (Ziervogel, Shale and Du). This terrible water supply system causes great risks for many diseases.

Mitigation efforts have been put in place here, but the ever-increasing amounts and sizes of informal settlements and other infrastructure just intensifies the potential risk. The City of Cape Town already has a hydrological monitoring network, as well as well-developed flood risk infrastructure. More mitigation efforts to come should and will include ongoing monitoring of increasing risks, increasing infrastructure aimed at reducing impacts of floods, and continuously maintaining and cleaning stormwater drains to clear them of sand and leaves (Mukheibir and Ziervogel).

Fires: The most common vegetation type in Cape Town is fynbos (directly translated to fine bush). These species are often endemic to specific areas stretching only a few kilometers (SANParks). Table Mountain alone has more plant species than the whole UK (Scott). Fynbos is dependent on fires to stimulate new growth and ensure the health of the plant and animal communities (SANParks). On average, fires occur every 15 years at a specific location. Each year, in the warm summer months between November and March, fires across Cape Town are common and sometimes last for days. These fires are extinguished, as they often damage infrastructure including houses. Because of the global warming phenomenon, the intensity and frequency of these fires are increasing (Mukheibir and Ziervogel).
Mitigation efforts to influence the intensity and frequency of fires in the past have mostly been unsuccessful, and a plan for defensive measures is being adopted. This includes increased training in fire management and fighting capabilities and better fire breaks between vegetation and residential areas (Mukheibir and Ziervogel).
Cape Town has some work to do. Though efforts are in place to mitigate these effects of global warming, it is hard to break into the momentum thereof. More resources should be allocated to these efforts in order to prevent disasters in the future. Cape Town is a beautiful and naturally diverse city and should be protected and taken care of for future generations.

References

City of Cape Town. "City Statistics and Population Census." 2012. City of Cape Town Official Web Site. Document. 2 November 2013. .

Encyclopaedia Britannica. Cape Town (South Africa). 2013. Web. 2 November 2013. .

Mail and Guardian Staff Writer. Cape Town Frets over Clomate Change. Newspaper. Cape Town: Mail and Guardian, 2010. Newspaper. 2 November 2013. .

Mukheibir, Pierre and Gina Ziervogel. "Developing a Municipal Adaptation Plan (MAP) for Climate Change: The City of Cape Town."

Environment and Urbanization 19 (2007): 143-158. Document. 2 November 2013.

NRDC. An Introduction to Climate Change. 2011. Web. 2 November 2013. .

SANParks. Table Mountain National Park. n.d. Web. 2 November 2013. .

Scott, Peter. Physiology and Behavior of Plants. John Wiley and Sons, 2013. Ebook. 2 November 2013.

Ziervogel, Gina, Moliehi Shale and Minlei Du. "Climate change adaptation in a developing country context: The case of urban water supply in Cape Town." Climate and Development (2010): 94-110. Document. 2 November 2013.

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