Shell – multinational oil and gas company – has announced it will start a seismic survey in search of oil or gas deposits from South Africa’s beautiful Morgans Bay to Port St Johns on December 1 at the earliest. The survey will include a vessel operated by Shell Exploration and Production SA’s hirelings, Shearwater GeoServices, […]

The City of Cape Town has released water quality test results for Zeekoevlei, Zandvlei, Rietvlei and Milnerton lagoon for May to October 2021. All four waterbodies have been closed to the public for months due to dangerously high levels of E. coli (a bacteria found in human faeces). The City of Cape Town has released […]

Dozens of climate justice activists gathered outside Parliament as part of a global day of action on Saturday. Climate activists picketed outside Parliament on Saturday demanding government take drastic action over climate change. The Rural Women’s Assembly criticised the COP26 talks in Scotland for excluding the voices of small-scale African farmers and others most affected […]

For a few short weeks every spring, a miraculous eruption of daisies in the arid Namaqualand in the Northern Cape draws and delights tourists. But once the flowers wilt and visitors leave, a severe drought, that is now extending into its tenth year, is evident again. It has destroyed millions of hectares of land and […]

Tomorrow – Wed August 25 – legendary South African endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh will attempt the toughest swim of his career, 10km across Greenland’s Ilulissat Icefjord. The UN Patron of Oceans, who is on a mission to fully protect a third of the world’s oceans by 2030, says there is no better place in the […]

This is the most sobering report card yet on climate change and Earth’s future. Here’s what you need to know… Compiled by: Pep Canadell, CSIRO; Joelle Gergis, Australian National University; Malte Meinshausen, The University of Melbourne; Mark Hemer, CSIRO, and Michael Grose, CSIRO Earth has warmed 1.09℃ since pre-industrial times and many changes such as […]

When great white sharks disappeared from two well-known congregation areas on South Africa’s coast recently, the possible reasons were hotly debated…. writes Alison Kock, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. The appearance of a pair of shark-eating killer whales in the area was one. Another was the decline in numbers of smaller shark species that […]

A light dusting of snow fell last night at Semonkong Lodge, Lesotho in southern Africa. Approximately 2 cm fell through the night. These beautiful photos and video, supplied by Love Africa Marketing, capture the enchanting winter scene… Photos of light snow in Lesotho

Over 100 people picketed outside the Pretoria High Court on Monday to show solidarity with the “Deadly Air” case, which had its first day of court proceedings. The case deals with air pollution in the Mpumalanga Highveld. It was brought by two environmental activist organisations – groundWork and Vukani Environmental Justice Movement in Action (VEJMA). […]

The Kruger National Park (KNP) today, 17 May 2021 announced their management plans in anticipation of the coming winter fire season which usually takes place between June and October. Fires are a common and natural occurrence in KNP which is found within the Savanna biome (also knows as the Tropical Grasslands), and like the Fynbos […]

A new School of Climate Studies will be officially launched at Stellenbosch University in June 2021. Higher Education Minister Dr Blade Nzimande says with the new academic school focusing on climate change, this will hopefully enable SA’s academics and students to build a well-rounded body of scientific knowledge and skills to not only understand the […]

A new report reveals that water pollution across Cape Town’s rivers, vleis and estuaries has been getting steadily worse for 40 years, except for a few years. A new report shows that Cape Town’s rivers, vleis and estuaries have been getting worse for 40 years, with the exception of a few years. In the rivers, […]

To the untrained eye, the scrubby vegetation in the centre of the track at the Kenilworth racecourse looks like nothing to get excited about, yet this 52-hectare patch of land may be the most valuable real estate in the City of Cape Town in terms of biodiversity. Relative to size – or pound-for-pound as they […]

An enchanting documentary by well known South African filmmakers – Bonné de Bod and Susan Scott – has been nominated for the Best Feature Film category at the International Wildlife Film Festival in the US. The documentary – ‘Kingdoms of Fire, Ice & Fairy Tales’ – charts the award-winning filmmakers’ epic journey from Yellowstone National […]

Forests are good for the planet: they purify the air and moderate the climate. They are abundant in resources, providing habitat, food, shelter and a rich biodiversity of plant and animal life. So it’s a worry that forests located near major cities are exposed to metals commonly found in atmospheric pollution. Metal contamination is one […]

Despite a recent slight decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic, greenhouse gas emissions continue to accumulate in the atmosphere. They are projected to rise again once the economy recovers. The current pledges by governments across the world to reduce emissions are insufficient to keep global warming within safe levels (that is, below 2°C). Although with […]

Locust outbreaks are currently plaguing South Africa in parts of the Free State, Northern Cape and Western Cape, fuelled further by strong winds, according to Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza. “Control measures are currently being implemented to curb the spread of the locusts. The current strong winds are aiding the fight […]

The Green Scorpions have ordered the City of Cape Town to sort out pollution in the Milnerton Lagoon, following continued failures at the Potsdam Waste Water Treatment Works. The Green Scorpions have ordered the City of Cape Town to sort out the pollution of Milnerton Lagoon. This follows two earlier warnings. The City has appealed […]

Many of South Africa’s most beautiful and ancient trees and forests are in deadly danger of being destroyed by an invasive beetle. The good news, however, is that research at one of the country’s leading wine farms, renowned for its agricultural and horticultural research since 1700, could help defeat this dreaded pest. The polyphagous shot […]

Most of South Africa’s seasonal rainfall occurs during the warmer summer months, from October to March. As a result, October is an important period for farmers to begin planning when to sow crops (such as maize, wheat and sunflowers) for the growing season. October is also an important period for the tourism industry to think […]

We have learned so much about nature from David Attenborough’s documentaries over the past seven decades. In a new BBC film he lays bare just how perilous the state of that nature really is, why this matters for everyone who shares this planet, and what needs to change. This film is radical. Surprisingly radical. I […]

The newly launched Earthshot Prize, publicised by Prince William in an interview with the famous environmentalist Sir David Attenborough as the most prestigious in the world, will award one million pounds to five people each year for the next decade for their contributions to clean up the environment and the world. The five prizes awarded […]

Appeals against the first phase of a controversial new road link through part of the extensive Noordhoek wetland system in the southern Cape Peninsula have been dismissed by Western Cape environment MEC Anton Bredell. Appeals against a 1.2km road extension impacting the Noordhoek wetland have been dismissed by the Western Cape government. MEC Anton Bredell said […]

As Cape Town was battered by rain and strong winds on Thursday, photographer Nigel Riley ventured out to the iconic Kalk Bay Harbour on the False Bay coast in the Western Cape, South Africa, to capture these impressive photos as waves crashed over the harbour wall. “It was a day filled with lots of action […]

There was much excitement this weekend as Theewaterskloof Dam, Cape Town’s main source of drinking water, appeared to be overflowing. But it turns out that was the wind pushing the water over, and not the dam that was actually all the way full just yet. But it is close… as can be seen by these […]