Access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)-including drainage-services-is essential for public health and socio-economic development, but access remains inadequate and inequitable in low- to middle-income countries such as South Africa. In South Africa, rural areas and small towns generally depend on a limited and climate-sensitive economic base (e.g., farming), and they have a limited capacity and are located in areas where transport challenges can increase WASH access risks. Climate change shifts hydrological cycles, which can worsen WASH access and increase susceptibility to the interlinked impacts of droughts and flooding in already vulnerable regions. We adopted a transdisciplinary approach to explore the needs, barriers, and vulnerabilities with respect to WASH in rural areas and small towns in South Africa-using two case studies to explore climate risk and vulnerability assessment (CRVA) in one rural village in the northern Limpopo province and a small town in the Western Cape province. This holistic approach considered natural (environment and climate) and socio-economic (economic, social, governance, and political) factors and how they interplay in hampering access to WASH. Extreme weather events characterized by frequent and intense droughts or floods aggravate surface and groundwater availability and damage water infrastructure while threatening agriculture-dependent livelihoods. The lack of reliable transport infrastructure increases risks posed by flooding as roads to vital supplies are prone to damage. High inequality linked to rising unemployment and the Apartheid legacy of a segregated service delivery system result in inequitable access to WASH services. The intertwined ways in which natural elements and historical, social, economic, governance, and policy aspects are changing in South Africa increase WASH vulnerability in rural areas and small towns.
The changes in climatic conditions and their associated impacts are contributing to a worsening of existing gender inequalities and a heightening of women’s socioeconomic vulnerabilities in South Africa. Using data collected by research methods inspired by the tradition of participatory appraisals, we systematically discuss the impacts of climate change on marginalized women and the ways in which they are actively responding to climate challenges and building their adaptive capacity and resilience in the urban areas of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. We argue that changes in climate have both direct and indirect negative impacts on women’s livelihoods and well-being. Less than one-half (37%) of the women reported implementing locally developed coping mechanisms to minimize the impacts of climate-related events, whereas 63% reported lacking any form of formal safety nets to deploy and reduce the impacts of climate-induced shocks and stresses. The lack of proactive and gender-sensitive local climate change policies and strategies creates socioeconomic and political barriers that limit the meaningful participation of women in issues that affect them and marginalize them in the climate change discourses and decision-making processes, thereby hampering their efforts to adapt and reduce existing vulnerabilities. Thus, we advocate for the creation of an enabling environment to develop and adopt progendered, cost-effective, transformative, and sustainable climate change policies and adaptation strategies that are responsive to the needs of vulnerable groups (women) of people in society. This will serve to build their adaptive capacity and resilience to climate variability and climate change-related risks and hazards.
Social vulnerability indices (SVI) can predict communities’ vulnerability and resilience to public health threats such as drought, food insecurity or infectious diseases. Parity has yet to be investigated as an indicator of social vulnerability in young women. We adapted an SVI score, previously used by the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC), and calculated SVI for young urban South African women (n = 1584; median age 21.6, IQR 3.6 years). Social vulnerability was more frequently observed in women with children and increased as parity increased. Furthermore, young women classified as socially vulnerable were 2.84 times (95% CI 2.10-3.70; p < 0.001) more likely to report household food insecurity. We collected this information in 2018-2019, prior to the current global COVID-19 pandemic. With South Africa having declared a National State of Disaster in March 2020, early indicators suggest that this group of women have indeed been disproportionally affected, supporting the utility of such measures to inform disaster relief efforts.
There are many climatic changes facing South Africa which already have, or are projected to have, a detrimental impact on human health. Here the risks to health due to several alterations in the climate of South Africa are considered in turn. These include an increase in ambient temperature, causing, for example, a significant rise in morbidity and mortality; heavy rainfall leading to changes in the prevalence and occurrence of vector-borne diseases; drought-associated malnutrition; and exposure to dust storms and air pollution leading to the potential exacerbation of respiratory diseases. Existing initiatives and strategies to prevent or reduce these adverse health impacts are outlined, together with suggestions of what might be required in the future to safeguard the health of the nation. Potential roles for the health and non-health sectors as well as preparedness and capacity development with respect to climate change and health adaptation are considered.
BACKGROUND: Climate change presents an unprecedented and urgent threat to human health and survival. South Africa’s health response will require a strong and effective intersectoral organisational effort. AIM: Exploratory interview outcomes are used to advance practice and policy recommendations, as well as for broad input in the development of a draft national framework for a health risk and vulnerability assessment (RVA) for national departments. SETTING: Nationally in South Africa. METHOD: Twenty key expert interviews were conducted with South African experts in the field of climate change and health. Interview data was analysed by means of thematic content analysis. RESULTS: Findings suggest that previously poor communities are most at risk to the impacts of climate change on health, as well as those with underlying medical conditions. Climate change may also serve as a catalyst for improving the healthcare system overall and should serve as the conduit to do so. A draft climate change and health RVA should take into account existing frameworks and should be implemented by local government. It is also critical that the health and health system impacts from climate change are well understood, especially in light of the plans to implement the (South African) National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme. CONCLUSION: Practice and policy initiatives should be holistic in nature. Consideration should be given to forming a South African National Department of Climate Change, or a similar coordinating body between the various national departments in South Africa, as health intercepts with all other domains within the climate change field.
Children spend a significant proportion of their time at school and in school buildings. A healthy learning environment that supports children should be thermally conducive for learning and working. Here, we aimed to study the relations between indoor classroom temperatures and learner absenteeism as a proxy for children’s health and well-being. This one-year prospective study that spanned two calendar years (from June 2017 to May 2018) entailed measurement of indoor classroom temperature and relative humidity, calculated as apparent temperature (Tapp) and collection of daily absenteeism records for each classroom in schools in and around King Williams Town, Eastern Cape province, South Africa. Classroom characteristics were collected using a standardized observation checklist. Mean indoor classroom temperature ranged from 11 to 30 °C, while mean outdoor temperature ranged from 6 °C to 31 °C during the sample period. Indoor classroom temperatures typically exceeded outdoor temperatures by 5 °C for 90% of the study period. While multiple factors may influence absenteeism, we found absenteeism was highest at low indoor classroom Tapp (i.e., below 15 °C). Absenteeism decreased as indoor Tapp increased to about 25 °C before showing another increase in absenteeism. Classroom characteristics differed among schools. Analyses of indoor classroom temperature and absenteeism in relation to classroom characteristics showed few statistically significant relations-although not exceptionally strong ones-likely because of the multiple factors that influence absenteeism. However, given the possible relationship between indoor temperature and absenteeism, there is a learning imperative to consider thermal comfort as a fundamental element of school planning and design. Furthermore, additional research on factors besides temperature that affect learner absenteeism is needed, especially in rural areas.
Pneumonia is a leading cause of hospitalization in South Africa. Climate change could potentially affect its incidence via changes in meteorological conditions. We investigated the delayed effects of temperature and relative humidity on pneumonia hospital admissions at two large public hospitals in Limpopo province, South Africa. Using 4062 pneumonia hospital admission records from 2007 to 2015, a time-varying distributed lag non-linear model was used to estimate temperature-lag and relative humidity-lag pneumonia relationships. Mean temperature, relative humidity and diurnal temperature range were all significantly associated with pneumonia admissions. Cumulatively across the 21-day period, higher mean daily temperature (30 °C relative to 21 °C) was most strongly associated with a decreased rate of hospital admissions (relative rate ratios (RR): 0.34, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.14-0.82), whereas results were suggestive of lower mean daily temperature (12 °C relative to 21 °C) being associated with an increased rate of admissions (RR: 1.27, 95%CI: 0.75-2.16). Higher relative humidity (>80%) was associated with fewer hospital admissions while low relative humidity (<30%) was associated with increased admissions. A proportion of pneumonia admissions were attributable to changes in meteorological variables, and our results indicate that even small shifts in their distributions (e.g., due to climate change) could lead to substantial changes in their burden. These findings can inform a better understanding of the health implications of climate change and the burden of hospital admissions for pneumonia now and in the future.
Climate change poses a major threat to the future of today’s youth. Globally, young people are at the forefront of climate change activism. Their ability to engage, however, depends on the level of knowledge of climate change and concern about the topic. We sought to examine levels of knowledge and concerns about climate change among youth in South Africa, and their experiences of heat exposure. Ten questions on climate change knowledge, concerns and experiences were nested within a cross-sectional survey conducted in a cluster randomised trial among 924 secondary school learners in 14 public schools in low-income Western Cape areas. Learners’ mean age was 15.8 years and they were predominately female. While 72.0% of respondents knew that climate change leads to higher temperatures, only 59.7% agreed that human activity is responsible for climate change, and 58.0% believed that climate change affects human health. Two thirds (68.7%) said that climate change is a serious issue and 65.9% indicated action is needed for prevention. Few learners indicated climate change events had affected them, although many reported difficulties concentrating during hot weather (72.9%). Female learners had lower knowledge levels than male learners, but more frequent heat-related symptoms. Learners scoring high on knowledge questions expressed the most concern about climate change and had the highest heat impacts. Many youth seem unaware that climate change threatens their future. Heat-related symptoms are common, likely undermining educational performance, especially as temperatures escalate. More is needed to mainstream climate change into South African school curricula.
Increasing air temperature coupled with high humidity due to ongoing climate change across most parts of South Africa is likely to induce and intensify heat exposure, particularly in densely populated areas. The adverse health implications, including heatstroke, are expected to be common and more severe during extreme heat and heat wave events. The present study was carried out to examine heat stress conditions and long-term trends in South Africa. The study aimed to identify geographical locations exposed to elevated heat stress based on over two decades of hourly ground-based data. Selected heat stress indicators were calculated based on Steadman’s apparent temperature (AT in degrees C). The trends in AT were assessed based on the non-parametric Mann-Kendall (MK) trend test at 5% significance level. Positive trends were detected in 88% of the selected weather stations except in Welkom-FS, Ficksburg-FS, Langebaanweg-WC, Lambertsbaai Nortier-WC, Skukuza-MP, and Thabazimbi-LP. Approximately 47% of the detected positive trends are statistically significant at 5% significant level. Overall, high climatological annual median (ATmed) values (>32 degrees C) were observed at 42 stations, most of which are in low altitude regions, predominately along the coastlines. The hottest towns with ATmed values in the danger category (i.e., 39-50 degrees C) were found to be Patensie-EC (41 degrees C), Pietermaritzburg-KZN (39 degrees C), Pongola-KZN (39 degrees C), Knysna-WC (39 degrees C), Hoedspruit-LP (39 degrees C), Skukuza-MP (45 degrees C), and Komatidraai-MP (44 degrees C). The results provide insight into heat stress characteristics and pinpoint geographical locations vulnerable to heat stress conditions at the community level in South Africa. Such information can be useful in monitoring hotspots of heat stress and contribute to the development of local heat-health adaptation plans.
Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy are a leading cause of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity. We evaluate the effects of ambient temperature on risk of maternal hypertensive disorders throughout pregnancy. We used birth register data for all singleton births (22-43 weeks’ gestation) recorded at a tertiary-level hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, between July 2017-June 2018. Time-to-event analysis was combined with distributed lag non-linear models to examine the effects of mean weekly temperature, from conception to birth, on risk of (i) high blood pressure, hypertension, or gestational hypertension, and (ii) pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, or HELLP (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelets). Low and high temperatures were defined as the 5th and 95th percentiles of daily mean temperature, respectively. Of 7986 women included, 844 (10.6%) had a hypertensive disorder of which 432 (51.2%) had high blood pressure/hypertension/gestational hypertension and 412 (48.8%) had pre-eclampsia/eclampsia/HELLP. High temperature in early pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of pre-eclampsia/eclampsia/HELLP. High temperature (23 °C vs 18 °C) in the third and fourth weeks of pregnancy posed the greatest risk, with hazard ratios of 1.76 (95% CI 1.12-2.78) and 1.79 (95% CI 1.19-2.71), respectively. Whereas, high temperatures in mid-late pregnancy tended to protect against pre-eclampsia/eclampsia/HELLP. Low temperature (11°) during the third trimester (from 29 weeks’ gestation) was associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure/hypertension/gestational hypertension, however the strength and statistical significance of low temperature effects were reduced with model adjustments. Our findings support the hypothesis that high temperatures in early pregnancy increase risk of severe hypertensive disorders, likely through an effect on placental development. This highlights the need for greater awareness around the impacts of moderately high temperatures in early pregnancy through targeted advice, and for increased monitoring of pregnant women who conceive during periods of hot weather.
In 2015, South Africa experienced one of the worst (El Ni??o-induced) droughts in 35 years. This affected economic activities, individual and community livelihoods and wellbeing especially in rural communities in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Drought’s direct and indirect impacts on public health require urgent institutional responses, especially in South Africa’s stride to eliminate HIV as a public health threat by 2030 in line with the UNAIDS goals. This paper draws on qualitative data from interviews and policy documents to discuss how the devastating effect of the 2015 drought experience in the rural Hlabisa sub-district of uMkhanyakude, a high HIV prevalence area, imposes an imperative for more proactive institutional responses to drought and other climate-related events capable of derailing progress made in South Africa’s HIV/AIDS response. We found that drought had a negative impact on individual and community livelihoods and made it more difficult for people living with HIV to consistently engage with care due to economic losses from deaths of livestock, crop failure, food insecurity, time spent in search of appropriate water sources and forced relocations. It also affected government institutions and their interventions. Interviewed participants’ reflections on drought-related challenges, especially those related to institutional and coordination challenges, showed that although current policy frameworks are robust, their implementation has been stalled due to complex reporting systems, and inadequate interdepartmental collaboration and information sharing. We thus argue that to address the gaps in the institutional responses, there is a need for more inclusive systems of drought-relief implementation, in which government departments, especially at the provincial and district levels, work with national institutions to better share data/information about drought-risks in order to improve preparedness and implementation of effective mitigation measures.
In 2015 and 2016, South Africa experienced a severe drought resulting in water restrictions and food price inflation. A year later, while the proportion of food secure households remained constant, the proportion of those experiencing severe food insecurity increased. This paper investigates the socio-economic determinants of increasing food insecurity during and after the drought. Two cross-sectional household surveys were carried out in the district of iLembe in November 2016 and 2017. Household food insecurity was measured using the Coping Strategies Index. The results indicated changes in socio-economic determinants of food insecurity over time, with the poorest households experiencing the worst levels of food insecurity. After the drought, having a child under-five years was positively associated with food insecurity, while being located in a rural area was negatively associated. Policies that limit household vulnerability to price inflation, and interventions that protect poorer households from the effects of drought should be considered.
The 2015 El Nin & SIM;o-triggered drought in Southern Africa caused widespread economic and livelihood disruption in South Africa, imposing multiple physical and health challenges for rural populations including people living with HIV (PLHIV). We examined the economic, social and demographic impacts of drought drawing on 27 in-depth interviews in two cohorts of PLHIV in Hlabisa, uMkhanyakude district, KwaZulu-Natal. Thematic analysis revealed how drought enforced soil water depletion, dried-up rivers, and dams culminated in a continuum of events such as loss of livestock, reduced agricultural production, and insufficient access to water and food which was understood to indirectly have a negative impact on HIV treatment adherence. This was mediated through disruptions in incomes, livelihoods and food systems, increased risk to general health, forced mobility and exacerbation of contextual vulnerabilities linked to poverty and unemployment. The systems approach, drawn from interview themes, hypothesises the complex pathways of plausible networks of impacts from drought through varying socioeconomic factors, exacerbating longstanding contextual precarity, and ultimately challenging HIV care utilisation. Understanding the multidimensional relationships between climate change, especially drought, and poor HIV care outcomes through the prism of contextual vulnerabilities is vital for shaping policy interventions.
Extreme Temperature Events (ETEs), including heatwaves, warm spells, cold waves and cold spells, have disastrous impacts on human health and ecosystems. The frequency, intensity, and duration of ETEs is projected to increase due to climate change. However, very little research has been done on ETEs in South Africa, and only a few attempts have been made to identify and examine trends. Currently, ten known publications have examined ETEs across South Africa, the majority of which use the South African Weather Service (SAWS) climate database as the primary source. The general findings indicate that the incidence and duration of extreme warm temperatures are increasing, while cold extremes are decreasing. However, inconstancies exist in the indices used to identify ETEs, selection of meteorological stations, study period, and statistical methods used to examine trends. We review the methodological approaches to define ETEs, the extreme temperature indices adopted, the selection of meteorological stations, study periods, data quality and homogeneity, statistical trend analysis, and results. From these, we propose an approximate number of stations to adequately portray temperature variability on a national and regional level. Finally, we reflect on projections of ETEs under current climate change conditions, and the implications of cold and warm ETEs in a South African context.
Climate change threatens the health and well-being of populations. We conducted a risk assessment of two climate-related variables (i.e., temperature and rainfall) and associated water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)-related exposures and vulnerabilities for people living in Mopani District, Limpopo province, South Africa. Primary and secondary data were applied in a qualitative and quantitative assessment to generate classifications of risk (i.e., low, medium, or high) for components of hazard/threat, human exposure, and human vulnerability. Climate-related threats were likely to impact human health due to the relatively high risk of waterborne diseases and WASH-associated pathogens. Vulnerabilities that increased the susceptibility of the population to these adverse outcomes included environmental, human, physical infrastructure, and political and institutional elements. People of low socio-economic status were found to be least likely to cope with changes in these hazards. By identifying and assessing the risk to sanitation services and water supply, evidence exists to inform actions of government and WASH sector partners. This evidence should also be used to guide disaster risk reduction, and climate change and human health adaptation planning.
Dust storms are meteorological hazards associated with several adverse health impacts including eye irritations, respiratory and cardiovascular disorders, and vehicular road accidents due to poor visibility. This study investigated relations between admissions from a large, public hospital that serves people living in Northern Cape and Free State provinces, South Africa during 2011 to 2017, and meteorological variables (temperature and air quality) during two dust storms, one in October 2014 (spring) and the second in January 2016 (summer), identified from the media as no repository of such events exists for South Africa. Distributed nonlinear lag analysis and wavelet transform analysis were applied to explore the relationships between hospital admissions for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, eye irritation, and motor vehicle accidents; maximum temperature, and two air quality ‘proxy measures,’ aerosol optical depth and angstrom ngstrom exponent, were used as ground-based air quality data were unavailable. Eye irritation was the most common dust-related hospital admission after both dust storm events. No statistically significant changes in admissions of interest occurred at the time of the two dust storm events, using either of the statistical methods. Several lessons were learnt. For this type of study, ground-based air quality and local wind data are required; alternative statistical methods of analysis should be considered; and a central dust storm repository would help analyze more than two events. Future studies in South Africa are needed to develop a baseline for comparison of future dust storm events and their impacts on human health.
South African Air Quality Information System (SAAQIS) is a web based interactive air quality information system which seeks to provide the state of air quality information to citizens, and it is a research portal for strengthening policy development related to air quality issues.
The Fire Danger Index (FDI) uses 5 categories to rate the fire danger represented by colour codes [Blue (insignificant) (0-20), Green (low) (21-45), Yellow (moderate) (46-60), Orange (high) (61-75) and Red (extremely high) (75<)]. Each of the danger rating is accompanied by precaution statement.
While the global response to climate change has been scant and uncoordinated, especially with regard to providing adequate water resources for the most improvised, water scarcity has become an increasingly neglected phenomenon in rural areas. The long-term imbalance resulting from the water demand exceeding the available water resources has been identified in the literature, with the majority of rural dwellers negatively affected by water scarcity. Using a scoping review technique to explore the nexus between climate change and water-security realities in view of coping and planning mechanisms in the South African context, 246,443 articles published between 2010 and 2019 were collated and reviewed in a bid to ascertain the state of knowledge, study, and focus on the coping and planning strategies adopted by rural communities in the face of climate change-induced water insecurity in South Africa. The identified gaps in the literature indicate the omission of spatial planning principles in responding to water-scarcity issues. This review concludes that, although policy research that links the impacts of climate change in rural communities exists, stronger focus on the quality and quantity issues in the implementation of water-security matters is critical. Hence, the impact of climate change on climate-sensitive supplies available in these rural areas as well as the consequent coping and planning alternatives for rural communities require a more robust policy and spatial research. Thus, as rural communities deal with the impacts of climate change, implementation cycles of water-security measures need to be ensured along with further integration of spatial planning issues in rural areas. Hence, a deeper engagement with spatial planning issues is needed, in order to further mitigate and address the impacts of climate change on water security in rural areas.
Extreme cold events (“cold waves”) have disastrous impacts on ecosystem and human health. Evidence shows that these events will still occur under current increasing mean temperatures. Little research has been done on extreme cold events, especially in developing countries such as South Africa. These events pose a significant threat due to the low adaptive capacity, urgent development needs and relatively inadequate infrastructure in South Africa. This study presents annual and seasonal, spatial and temporal trend analyses of extreme cold temperature events for the period 1960-2016. We apply the World Meteorological Organisation Commission for Climatology and Indices Expert Team on Sector-Specific Climate Indices (ET-SCI) to South Africa for the first time, with comparison to the World Meteorological Organisation Expert Team on Climate Change Detection (ETCCDI) indices previously used in South Africa. The extreme cold indices are calculated using the RClimDex and ClimPACT, respectively. Trends were calculated using the non-parametric Mann-Kendall test, Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient and Sen’s slope estimates. A decreasing trend is found for annual cold spell duration and cold wave frequency, at rates of 0.10 days.day(-1) and 0.02 events.day(-1), respectively. Seasonally, coldest day temperatures increased in autumn, with increases of 0.02 degrees C.day(-1) for the period 1960-2016. Regionally, increasing trends in annual cold spell duration days were evident in stations located in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, North-West Province, at a rate of 0.03 days.day(-1). Increasing trends in cold waves were observed for stations in Northern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape Province, at a rate of 0.01 events.day(-1). These results contribute to the awareness and recognition of the incidence and duration of cold extreme events in South Africa, seeing that studies suggest that anomalously cold events may persist in a warming world.
BACKGROUND: Zoonoses pose major threats to the health of humans, domestic animals and wildlife, as seen in the COVID-19 pandemic. Zoonoses are the commonest source of emerging human infections and inter-species transmission is facilitated by anthropogenic factors such as encroachment and destruction of wilderness areas, wildlife trafficking and climate change. South Africa was selected for a ‘One Health’ study to identify research priorities for control of zoonoses due to its complex disease burden and an overstretched health system. METHODS: A multidisciplinary group of 18 experts identified priority zoonotic diseases, knowledge gaps and proposed research priorities for the next 5 y. Each priority was scored using predefined criteria by another group of five experts and then weighted by a reference group (n=28) and the 18 experts. RESULTS: Seventeen diseases were mentioned with the top five being rabies (14/18), TB (13/18), brucellosis (11/18), Rift Valley fever (9/11) and cysticercosis (6/18). In total, 97 specific research priorities were listed, with the majority on basic epidemiological research (n=57), such as measuring the burden of various zoonoses (n=24), followed by 20 on development of new interventions. The highest research priority score was for improving existing interventions (0.77/1.0), followed by health policy and systems research (0.72/1.0). CONCLUSION: Future zoonotic research should improve understanding of zoonotic burden and risk factors and new interventions in public health. People with limited rural services, immunocompromised, in informal settlements and high-risk occupations, should be the highest research priority.
Enteric infections and water-related illnesses are more frequent during times of relative water abundance, especially in regions that experience bimodal rainfall patterns. However, it is unclear how seasonal changes in water availability and drinking water source types affect enteric infections in young children. This study investigated seasonal shifts in primary drinking water source type and the effect of water source type on enteric pathogen prevalence in stool samples from 404 children below age 5 in rural communities in Limpopo Province, South Africa. From wet to dry season, 4.6% (n = 16) of households switched from a source with a higher risk of contamination to a source with lower risk, with the majority switching to municipal water during the dry season. In contrast, 2.6% (n = 9) of households switched from a source with a lower risk of contamination to a source with higher risk. 74.5% (n = 301) of the total households experienced interruptions in their water supply, regardless of source type. There were no significant differences in enteric pathogen prevalence between drinking water sources. Intermittent municipal water distribution and household water use and storage practices may have a larger impact on enteric infections than water source type. The limited differences in enteric pathogen prevalence in children by water source could also be due to other exposure pathways in addition to drinking water, for example through direct contact and food-borne transmission.
Climate change-induced extreme weather events have been at their worst increase in the past decade (2010-2020) across Africa and globally. This has proved disruptive to global socio-economic activities. One of the challenges that has been faced in this regard is the increased coastal flooding of cities. This study examined the trends and impacts of coastal flooding in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Making use of archival climate data and primary data from key informants and field observations, it emerged that there is a statistically significant increase in the frequency of flooding and consequent human and economic losses from such in the coastal cities of the province. Flooding in urban areas of the Western Cape is a factor of human and natural factors ranging from extreme rainfall, usually caused by persistent cut off-lows, midlatitude cyclones, cold fronts and intense storms. Such floods become compounded by poor drainage caused by vegetative overgrowth on waterways and land pollution that can be traced to poor drainage maintenance. Clogging of waterways and drainage systems enhances the risk of flooding. Increased urbanisation, overpopulation in some areas and non-adherence to environmental laws results in both the affluent and poor settling on vulnerable ecosystems. These include coastal areas, estuaries, and waterways, and this worsens the risk of flooding. The study recommends a comprehensive approach to deal with factors that increase the risk of flooding as informed by the provisions of both the Sustainable Development Goals framework and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 in a bid to de-risking human settlement in South Africa.
Exposure to drought is on the increase, also in sub-Saharan Africa. Even so, little attention has been paid to what supports youth resilience to the stressors associated with drought. In response, this article reports a secondary analysis of qualitative data generated in a phenomenological study with 25 South African adolescents (average age 15.6; majority Sepedi-speaking) from a drought-impacted and structurally disadvantaged community. The thematic findings show the importance of personal, relational, and structural resources that fit with youths’ sociocultural context. Essentially, proactive collaboration between adolescents and their social ecologies is necessary to co-advance socially just responses to the challenges associated with drought.
Low-cost houses make up the majority of the homes in townships (racially segregated areas which are usually underdeveloped) in South Africa and there has been limited research on the indoor temperatures experienced by residents of these homes. As a developing nation the price and availability of construction materials, often takes precedence over the potential thermal efficiency of the house. Occupants of low-cost houses are particularly vulnerable to climatic changes which may increase the likelihood of exposure to extreme temperatures in South Africa. This study focused on the relationship between indoor and ambient temperature in two study areas namely; Kathorus in Gauteng and Wakkerstroom in Mpumalanga. Three housing types were included in the study (government funded apartheid era houses, government funded post-apartheid houses and informal houses (shacks)). Temperature data loggers were installed in each home, in each area, from June 2017 to July 2018. Ambient temperature data were collected for the period June 2017 to July 2018. The houses studied were built with different materials which affect their thermal efficiency. The study also included semi-structured interviews where occupant’s perspectives on housing could be surveyed. Household temperatures in Kathorus and Wakkerstroom, both in the warmer and colder months fluctuated substantially throughout the day. There was an 8 °C, 9 °C and 14 °C fluctuations in daily indoor temperatures of apartheid-era, post-apartheid and shacks houses, and daily outdoor fluctuations of 5-15 °C, with higher fluctuations measured in Wakkerstroom. Generally, ambient and indoor temperatures were correlated but showed high variability. Indoor data for the winter months were less well correlated. Data showed that residents are subjected to extreme temperatures and these are expected to increase. The householder’s perceptions of thermal comfort were often not related to indoor temperature readings but to behavioural changes including the use of warm clothes and wood burning stoves. The study’s findings suggest that a majority of low-cost houses are thermally inefficient especially for those built in the post-apartheid era and shacks. With these houses showing a clear link between ambient and indoor temperature fluctuations. The occupants of these homes are poor and vulnerable to health risks which could be exacerbated by temperature fluctuations. Small changes such as installation of ceilings and use of insulation could make a large difference in these houses.
Drought is a major challenge threatening agricultural productivity in uMsinga. The occurrence of drought is expected to increase in coming decades, intensifying in severity, duration and the way people are affected by drought. The objective of this study is to understand small-scale farmers’ and rural communities’ perceptions of drought, its environmental and socio-economic impacts, adaptive and mitigation measures at household level and their satisfaction with the government’s role in drought management in the community. The study utilized a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods, in the form of questionnaires, focus groups and key informant interviews. The sample size for the research study was 180 respondents for the questionnaire component and a total of 30 respondents for the focus groups and key informant interviews. The results show that increased levels of poverty, food insecurity and increased migration were the main socio-economic impacts perceived by respondents. Water scarcity, crop failure, forest degradation and an increase in average temperatures were perceived by respondents as the main environmental impacts caused by drought in uMsinga. Respondents perceived drought as a serious threat to agricultural production and adopted various indigenous adaptive strategies. A majority of respondents adopted a reactive approach to drought management, and therefore did not adopt many mitigation measures.
Climate change and air pollution are two independent risk factors to cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Few studies investigated their interaction and potential effect modification of one another in developing countries. Individual level CVD hospital admission (ICD10: I00-I99) data for 1 January 2011 to 31 October 2016 were obtained from seven private hospitals in Cape Town. NO(2), SO(2), PM(10), temperature and relative humidity data were obtained from the South African Weather Services and the City of Cape Town. A case-crossover epidemiological study design and conditional logistic regression model were applied. Various cut-off values were applied to classify cold and warm days. In total, 54,818 CVD hospital admissions were included in the study. In general, on warm and cold days the 15-64 years old group was more at risk for CVD hospitalization with increasing air pollution levels compared to all ages combined or the ??65 years old group. Females appeared to be more at risk than males with increasing PM(10) levels. In contrast, males were more vulnerable to the effects of NO(2) and SO(2) than females. The study showed the modification effect of temperature on air pollution associated with CVD hospital admissions. The consideration of such interaction will help in policy making and public health interventions dealing with climate change-related health risks.
While food insecurity is a persistent public health challenge, its long-term association with depression at a national level is unknown. We investigated the spatial heterogeneity of food insecurity and its association with depression in South Africa (SA), using nationally-representative panel data from the South African National Income Dynamics Study (years 2008-2015). Geographical clusters (“hotpots”) of food insecurity were identified using Kulldorff spatial scan statistic in SaTScan. Regression models were fitted to assess association between residing in food insecure hotspot communities and depression. Surprisingly, we found food insecurity hotspots (p?
BACKGROUND: The individual effects of biological constituents of particulate matter (PM) such as fungal spores, on lung function in children are not well known. This study investigated the seasonal short-term effect of daily variation in Alternaria and Cladosporium fungal spores on lung function in schoolchildren. METHODS: This panel study evaluated 313 schoolchildren in informal settlements of the Western Cape of South Africa, exposed to spores of two commonly encountered fungi, Alternaria and Cladosporium species. The children provided forced-expiratory volume in 1-s (FEV(1)) and peak-expiratory flow (PEF) measurements thrice daily for two consecutive school-weeks in summer and winter. Daily PM(10) levels, from a stationary ambient air quality monitor and fungal spore levels using spore traps were measured in each study area throughout the year. The effects of Alternaria and Cladosporium spores, on lung function were analysed for lag periods up to five-days, adjusting-for PM(10), other pollen exposures, study area, and other host and meteorological factors. Same-day exposure-response curves were computed for both fungal species. RESULTS: There was more variability in Alternaria spores level with noticeable peaks in summer. There were consistent lag-effects for Alternaria on PEF compared to Cladosporium, with the largest PEF deficit observed in winter (mean deficit: 13.78 L/min, 95%CI: 24.34 to -3.23 L/min) per 10spores/m(3) increase in Alternaria spores on lag day-2. Although there were no observable lag-effects for Alternaria and Cladosporium on FEV(1), same-day effects of Cladosporium spores on FEV(1) was present across both seasons. Threshold effects of Alternaria on both PEF and FEV(1) deficits were apparent at levels of 100 spores/m(3), but could not be explored for Cladosporium beyond the levels observed during the study. CONCLUSION: The study provides evidence for the independent effects of daily exposure to ambient fungal spores of Alternaria and Cladosporium on lung function deficits, more especially in winter for PEF.
There is an urgent need to map the geographic location of climate change risks and vulnerability, especially for cities in sub-Saharan Africa, which are experiencing the greatest urban development challenges and vulnerability to climate change impacts. The aim of this study is to investigate current and projected future heat risk, expressed as a heat stress exposure index using high-resolution climate change projections, and a social vulnerability index, to identify areas of potential future heat stress risk in the Durban (eThekwini) metropolitan area, South Africa. Additionally, this is the first study to use high-resolution downscaled climate change projections under Representative Concentration (RCP) 8.5, to construct the heat exposure index using apparent temperature and increases in minimum temperature and a social vulnerability index, using demographic and socio-economic census and land use data to, derived from principal component analysis (PCA) to spatially characterize heat stress within a South African city. Results show that while heat stress is not a current concern, it is projected to increase and become a future concern, mainly as a function of social vulnerability due to household demographic and infrastructural characteristics, and will be experienced in both the rural and inner-city areas of the metro. This study contributes a heat risk framework to identify locations for specific research and adaptation activities on heat stress risk and for urban planning in sub-Saharan African cities, which are characterized by both rural and urban contexts, to address climate change adaptation targeting and priority setting.
Although only a small proportion of the landmass of South Africa is classified as high risk for malaria, the country experiences on-going challenges relating to malaria outbreaks. Climate change poses a growing threat to this already dire situation. While considerable effort has been placed in public health campaigns in the highest-risk regions, and national malaria maps are updated to account for changing climate, malaria cases have increased. This pilot study considers the sub-population of South Africans who reside outside of the malaria area, yet have the means to travel into this high-risk region for vacation. Through the lens of the governmental “ABC of malaria prevention”, we explore this sub-population’s awareness of the current boundaries to the malaria area, perceptions of the future boundary under climate change, and their risk-taking behaviours relating to malaria transmission. Findings reveal that although respondents self-report a high level of awareness regarding malaria, and their boundary maps reveal the broad pattern of risk distribution, their specifics on details are lacking. This includes over-estimating both the current and future boundaries, beyond the realms of climate-topographic possibility. Despite over-estimating the region of malaria risk, the respondents reveal an alarming lack of caution when travelling to malaria areas. Despite being indicated for high-risk malaria areas, the majority of respondents did not use chemoprophylaxis, and many relied on far less-effective measures. This may in part be due to respondents relying on information from friends and family, rather than medical or governmental advice.
Increasing population and economic growth has intensified water supply pressure on the Olifants River Basin causing it to become water-stressed. Climate change is expected to aggravate existing water supply challenges in the basin if urgent interventions are not implemented. This study evaluates the impacts of climate change on water availability and demand in the Olifants River Basin of South Africa, and assesses to what extent a combination of management strategies can mitigate current and longer term impacts using the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) model. The results demonstrated by the two projected climate change scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) showed a rise in temperature of approximately 1 degrees C-4 degrees C, and a decrease in precipitation of 5%-30%, as compared to the baseline climate of 1976-2005. Results also showed that pressure on water supply due to increased economic activities and a decline in streamflow will increase unmet water demand by 58% and 80% for the mid and end century periods respectively. Results further revealed that the combination of management measures proposed by decision makers is expected to decrease future unmet water demand from 1006MCM to 398MCM, 1205MCM to 872MCM and 1251MCM to 940MCM for reference, RCP4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenario respectively. The study therefore concludes that the combination of management strategies provides a much better and more efficient solution to water scarcity issues in the basin, compared to a reliance on a single strategy.
