Climate change is a term everyone should be familiar with by now, especially after a year of fires and flash floods all over the world.
Now some may believe that climate change is not really a problem in South Africa but even if it isn’t one now, it will be soon.
With rapidly rising temperatures due to climate change, South Africa’s urban areas are a ticking time bomb with the building materials used absorbing and trapping heat and heat waves threatening livestock and produce.
The cities that will most be affected by severe heat waves in South Africa include: Upington and Kimberley, Mahikeng, Bloemfontein and Botshabelo, Lephalale and Musina and Mbombela.
According to projections, heat-related deaths among the elderly in South Africa can climb from a baseline of two deaths per 100 000 to as many as 20 to 50 deaths per 100 000 by 2050.
As urbanization continues it becomes more imperative for South Africa to pass the draft Climate Change Bill and implement the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy if they want to save lives and livelihoods in the near future.
Sources: Polity, ISS Africa
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