water shortage - The African Mirror

Mar

2024

Climate change: alarming Africa-wide report predicts 30% drop in crop revenue, 50 million without water

AFRICAN countries will suffer significant economic loss after 2050 if global warming is not limited to below 2°C, a new study by the Center for Global Development has found. Environment and energy economist Philip Kofi Adom is the author of the report. He synchronised many years of research by climate change scientists and researchers and found that West and East Africa will fare worst. We asked him about his findings. PHILIP KOFI ADOM, Associate Professor, School of Economics and Finance, University of the Witwatersrand You found climate change will reduce Africa’s crop earnings by 30%. How will this affect people?…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Three-quarters of Somali families found lacking water as drought looms

NEWS

NITA BHALLA and MOHAMMED OMER NEARLY three-quarters of Somali families lack safe drinking water as drought looms across the country and depletes wells, raising the risk of hunger as crops fail and livestock dies, UK-based charity Save the Children said on Monday. Climate change is taking a heavy toll across eastern Africa, and increasingly erratic weather - from recurring droughts to floods - is becoming commonplace in countries such as Somalia, Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia. In a survey of more than 630 households in eight of Somalia's 18 regions, the charity said a dearth of seasonal rain last year had…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

COVID-19: the risk the pandemic poses to SA’s water supply

COVID-19

Household water supplies may fall victim to the COVID-19 pandemic – if users can no longer pay their bills, and municipalities’ revenue streams dry up, experts have warned. “In the short term, there will still be water for people to wash their hands. However, the long term consequences could be devastating if municipalities are not able to fund their ongoing operations while funds for the President’s Infrastructure Investment initiative will also be affected,” says Mike Muller, Chair of the Technical Subcommittee for the Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA). As the lockdown impacts individuals and companies across the spectrum, prompting…