The extreme heat in Cape Town and the Western Cape in the past week will have made one aware that climate change can affect our region too.  Record-high temperatures, touching 40C in Cape Town and 48C in Franschhoek, have affected every citizen.

The City of Cape Town’s head of environmental policy, Gregg Oelofse, has warned Capetonians that climate change will make itself felt locally, as the average temperature increase is estimated at 2-3C, “placing our coastal vulnerability as a very real concern that holds multiple implications for our city.  The risks associated with sea-level rise events can no longer be viewed as something to be addressed into the future, but must be considered as a priority in our immediate planning and management”, reports The Times.

The City’s report identifies Blouberg, Camps Bay, Kommetjie, Glencairn and the Strand to be “highly vulnerable” to a rise in sea level due to climate change.

Oelofse predicts that the Western Cape is destined to become drier, and that rain is less likely to be over a longer period of time and gentle, but shorter and more intense storms will bring the rain.   “The bigger the storm, the higher the wind velocity, and the higher the ocean swell that the wind pushes up against the coastline”.

The City is evaluating what it needs to do to protect the identified coastal areas against the rising sea levels.  It manages 307 km of coastline.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com