Using new high-resolution simulations, researchers conclude that climate change made the Cape Town ‘Day Zero’ drought five to six times more likely and suggest extreme drought events could become common in southwestern South Africa by the end of the 21st century.
Today, the lakes around Cape Town are brimming with water, but it was only a few years ago that South Africa’s second-most populous city made global headlines as a multi-year drought depleted its reservoirs, impacting millions of people. That kind of extreme event may become the norm, researchers now warn.
Using new high-resolution simulations, researchers from Stanford University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) concluded that human-caused climate change made the “Day Zero” drought in southwestern South Africa – named after the day, barely averted, when Cape Town’s municipal water supply would need to be shut off – five to six times more likely. Furthermore, such extreme events could go from being rare to common events by the end of the century, according to the study, published November 9 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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