The drought in the Western Cape was becoming a colossal challenge as the province headed into uncharted waters.
This was according to the WWF’s Fresh Water senior manager, Christine Colvin.
She said that farmers, businesses and individuals needed to prepare themselves for the “new normal,” with long-term climate predictions indicating that the region would become increasingly drier in the coming years.
“Up in the northern parts of South Africa, extreme increases in rainfall can be expected, particularly in intense events that are going to result into severe flooding.
For the Western Cape, a decrease in rainfall can be expected,” she said.
Colvin said that this would result in the Western Cape experiencing more and longer drought periods.
She added that scientists were confidently predicting what was likely to happen within the next two decades, but not how this would manifest in the next two to eight years.
“We are now in the third year of drought.
We don’t know what lies ahead.
“We can no longer afford to use the little water we have just once.