The official dam level stats in the Western Cape have skyrocketed in recent weeks following heavy rainfall and now show that five of the six dams are currently at, or exceeding, capacity. IT’S BACK! | Hellmann’s mayonnaise returns to shelves in South Africa The six major dams in the province – the Berg River, Steenbras Lower, Steenberg Upper, Theewaterskloof, Voëlvlei […]

The amount of rain in Cape Town over the past few weeks is dramatically captured by the graph below published by the municipality, which shows the volume of the city’s major dams every week since 2018. Note what has happened in the last three weeks as represented by the dotted navy blue line. While rain […]

Professor Debra Roberts, the Durban-based climate researcher who is running for the position of chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), says that you no longer need to beat the climate drum; the impact of climate change is already here. Roberts will become the first woman from Africa to chair the IPCC, if […]

The citizens of Hammanskraal, a small town north of South Africa’s capital, Tshwane, have been dealing with the deaths of 23 residents from cholera since 23 May 2023. Tests to find the source are continuing. The initial assumption by residents and authorities was that poor quality water led to the outbreak. In one week in […]

Learners living in Vygieskraal informal settlement in Belgravia, Cape Town, missed examinations on Wednesday because of widespread flooding this week. School clothes and books were sopping wet, some no longer usable. The widespread flooding has affected informal settlements including Philippi, Strand, Gugulethu, Mfuleni, Masiphumelele, and Khayelitsha. According to Gift of the Givers, the number of people in […]

Citrusdal residents have been isolated in their town since Wednesday evening after heavy flooding cut off access to the Cederberg town. Some residents are stranded outside with no way to return to their homes. The main access road off the N7 highway, the R393, collapsed on Wednesday evening during heavy downpours. The rapid flowing Olifants […]

The official dam level stats in the Western Cape have skyrocketed in recent weeks following ongoing heavy rainfall. IT’S BACK! | Hellmann’s mayonnaise returns to shelves in South Africa The six major dams in the province – the Berg River, Steenbras Lower, Steenberg Upper, Theewaterskloof, Voëlvlei and Wemmershoek – are cumulatively UP on a similar period last year. And […]

Vacant lots that were used as dumping sites are being turned into safe gardens thanks to a non-profit organisation based in Salt River, Cape Town. A tour guide teamed up with a local horticulturist to form a non-profit organisation and create safe green spaces in the historic suburb. The economic crisis wrought by Covid lockdowns […]

Families living in informal settlements situated in low-lying areas have had to abandon their homes because of flooding after heavy rains in Cape Town on Tuesday night. Many families with children say they don’t know where they will spend the coming nights. The cold front over the Western Cape is expected to last until Friday, […]

The official dam level stats in the Western Cape have skyrocketed in recent weeks following ongoing heavy rainfall. NEED A LONG WEEKEND | The next public holiday in South Africa is THIS WEEK The six major dams in the province – the Berg River, Steenbras Lower, Steenberg Upper, Theewaterskloof, Voëlvlei and Wemmershoek – are cumulatively UP on a similar […]

Ten climate activists, dressed in suits and ties, managed to disrupt Standard Bank’s Annual General Meeting on Monday morning. The group were among about 200 people who gathered outside the head office in Rosebank Johannesburg, demanding that Standard Bank stop investing in fossil fuels. Ten climate activists disrupted Standard Bank’s Annual General Meeting on Monday […]

Climate change is not just a buzzword or a topic for political debates. It is a real and pressing issue that affects every aspect of our lives. The effects of climate change are already being felt worldwide, from rising sea levels to heatwaves, droughts, floods, loss of biodiversity, food insecurity and more. In Nigeria, climate […]

Wildlife ACT’s Southern Drakensberg Conservation Project is calling attention to and actively mitigating the concerning decline of South African vulture populations. The Project, which falls under the conservation organisation’s Vulture Conservation Programme, calls on volunteers from around the world to assist in daily on-the-ground conservation efforts being made in the Southern Drakensberg region. The Project […]

GOING GREEN: V&A WATERFRONT WANTS PLASTIC GONE The V&A Waterfront recently amended its tenant lease agreement to include details that will help eliminate single-use plastics in the Waterfront by 2025. Guided by the South African Plastics Pact (SAPP), which is a ‘collaborative initiative aimed at creating a circular economy for plastic packaging’, the V&A Waterfront has included […]

DURBAN – Over 300 swimmers will descend on the Durban Beach Club for the Ardagh Glass Packaging World Oceans Day Swim on Saturday, in an event that represents a much bigger cause than the average open-water race. While the elite swimmers will be chasing titles in the 5km, 3.2km, 1.6km or 800m races, the event […]

The earth’s oceans are under grave threat. Scientists in many fields have pointed to the large-scale negative shifts brought about by human-made pollutants, mining and overfishing. How people now choose to behave, make collective decisions and build solidarity around the health of oceans has an impact not just on our own species but on all […]

South Africa’s agriculture has had great consecutive seasons since 2019/20. The sector’s gross value added grew by 14.9% in 2020, 8.8% in 2021 and modestly by 0.3% in 2022. This was primarily supported by favourable weather conditions. The current season is also likely to deliver solid growth for the sector, with variation across sub-sectors. We […]

For the first time in approximately 150 years, lions are once again roaming the spectacular rolling valleys and bushveld of Babanango Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal. In this historic move, two male lions have been reintroduced into this 20,000 hectare game reserve, as part of the reserve’s ambitious and successful rewilding journey. WATCH the exciting capture […]

Around the world, climate change, violence and poverty are forcing people from their homes. The UN’s refugee agency estimated that by mid-2022, there were 103 million people displaced from their homes, compared to 90 million at the end of 2021. People who are displaced are increasingly moving to urban areas, but many still end up […]

According to Patrick Hanson, the CEO of Luxaviation, a Luxembourg-based luxury airline firm, having pets can be just as polluting as travelling by private jet. In defence of his own industry, he declared recently that one of his company’s customers produces around 2.1 tonnes of CO₂ each year, roughly the same emissions as three pet […]

Suited executives with money bulging from their pockets poured oil over an iceberg in Kalk Bay on Monday while holding signs stating “profit before planet”, and “finders keepers”. A sign on the iceberg read: “Antarctica for peace and science”. The executives and the model iceberg were part of a performance by activist group Extinction Rebellion […]

One major challenge is the worsening power cuts, which heavily impact the energy-dependent agricultural sector. South Africa’s agriculture has had great consecutive seasons since 2019/20. The sector’s gross value added grew by 14.9% in 2020, 8.8% in 2021 and modestly by 0.3% in 2022 . This was primarily supported by favourable weather conditions. The current […]

The consistent rain is expected to continue in some parts of the Western Cape during the cold winter season. This will help in balancing and increasing dam water levels in the province. ALSO READ: Western Cape dam water levels, improved figures from last week Unlike other provinces, the Western Cape is blessed with some rain during this […]

The Free State has recorded one of the worst decrease in dam water levels this past week. However, there is hope because rain is expected. ALSO READ: Free State Weather: COLD but sunny day expected Dam water levels have been increasing throughout several provinces in the country and the Free State has been one of those […]

The Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill currently being considered by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee for Mineral Resources and Energy is fatally flawed and should be rejected by South Africans. The bill will create a separation of the regulation of the upstream petroleum industry from the regulation of the mining industry, with the former regulated by […]