Approximately 120 000 birds have died or have been culled since avian influenza was detected at two commercial layer farms in the Paardeberg area in the Western Cape. The provincial Department of Agriculture is advising the public and farming sector to remain vigilant. ALSO READ: Avian flu detected in Western Cape, 120 000 birds culled RISK […]

Investigations conducted by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has revealed that the fish that died on 11 April at the Hartbeespoort Dam, was due to extremely low oxygen levels in the dam. This comes after thousands of dead fish among the hyacinth were discovered closer to the shore by the Ifafi Aquatic Club […]

The City of Cape Town is calling on schools across the metro to help name Cape Town’s new anti-litter mascot. Prizes will be awarded for the best name suggestions from residents, schools, and businesses. The deadline for suggested names has been extended to 31 May by popular demand, with over 500 suggestions already received. Mayor […]

The benefits of experiencing nature for physical, psychological and spiritual well-being are widely documented. But much of the research on these benefits has been done in relatively affluent countries in the global North. There’s little research that has been done in developing countries on the benefits of being in nature. Development and urban planning approaches […]

Across the globe, many recent severe wildfires have moved from wildlands into the urban periphery (the “wildland urban interface”). In their wake, they’ve left death, destruction and disruption. This has led to questions about the extent to which climate change is to blame. A field of study called extreme event attribution has developed to answer […]

Wealthy households make up less than 14% of Cape Town’s population, but use more than half its domestic water, making their consumption a greater threat to sustainable water use than either climate change or population growth. A study of Cape Town’s water consumption has found that rich households use drinking water for swimming pools while […]

Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, has welcomed the declaration of Middelpunt Nature Reserve (MNR) as South Africa’s 29th Ramsar site. The declaration of South Africa’s 29th wetland of international importance comes less than a year since the declaration of the Berg Estuary in the Western Cape as South Africa’s 28th Ramsar […]

South Africa has been setting a positive example for its approach to ensuring a just energy transition, according to the African Energy Chamber. Not only is SA embracing renewable energy projects, but it is also wisely pursuing several proactive measures to generate the necessary funding. One such approach is the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer […]

1 in 5 South African households begs for food – the link between food insecurity and mental health At least ten million South Africans didn’t have enough food or money to buy food in 2019, according to the country’s statistics agency. This food insecurity remains a leading health problem that is unlikely to be eradicated any […]

Malawians living in South Africa are digging deep in their pockets to collect money and essential items to send home in the wake of the devastating cyclone Freddy earlier this month. A group of Malawians in South Africa are collecting money and essential goods to send to families in the wake of devastating Cyclone Freddy. […]

The Quinton van der Burgh Foundation (QVDB Foundation) and South African superstar Cassper Nyovest have reacted to a desperate need for clean drinkable water in the North West Province. Thanks to their initiative, Nyovest’s alma mater, Sol Plaatje Primary School in Mahikeng can now supply its 47 teachers and 1357 students with fresh drinking water. […]

As climate change worsens, and with populations rising worldwide, water shortages are a top threat to human development and security. One in four people on Earth face shortages of water for drinking, sanitation, agriculture and economic development. Water scarcity is expected to intensify in regions like the Middle East and North Africa region, which has […]

Tens of thousands of years ago, a huge horse species walked, trotted and galloped across the shifting sands of what is today South Africa’s Cape south coast. The Giant Cape Zebra (Equus capensis) weighed an estimated 450 kg. Its extant relatives in southern Africa are far smaller: the plains zebra weighs between 250 and 300 […]

Hit musician Giboh Pearson survived the devastating floods in southern Malawi by climbing a mango tree. (Watch videos at bottom of the page of the devastation caused by Cyclone Freddy.) Like many others, Watson Kapalamula and his children and Malawian musician Giboh Pearson survived the floods this week by taking refuge in trees. “By the […]

Many futuristic novels and films have explored what the world might look like without water. But water scarcity isn’t a problem for the far-off future: it’s already here. In its 2021 report UN Water outlined the scale of the crisis: 2.3 billion people live in water-stressed countries and 733 million of those people are in […]

Countries in the Horn of Africa have been hit by a multiyear drought. Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda are expected to continue getting below-normal rainfall in 2023. Excluding Uganda, 36.4 million people are affected and 21.7 million are in need of food assistance. Climate change projections show changes in temperature and rainfall extremes, especially without […]

The ferocity of the fire on Devil’s Peak that gutted UCT’s Jagger Library in April 2021, causing an estimated R1-billion in damages to UCT alone, can be directly linked to climate change, state scientists from UCT and Coventry University in the UK. A study has found that climate change played a role in the “UCT […]

About 25 million kilometres of new roads are expected to be built around the world by 2050. Along with power lines and railways, roads cut through the landscape everywhere, disrupting ecosystems. This linear infrastructure prevents animals from moving safely around their habitat. It also reduces access to the resources they need, like food, sufficient space […]

The City of Cape Town has discovered a small jumping cockroach – called a Leaproach – at the Steenbras Nature Reserve, the first of its kind to be found in one of our nature reserves. This is a befitting surprise as we celebrate World Wildlife Day and a reminder that not all wildlife is big […]

A distraught uncle from Zithulele Village near Coffee Bay in the Eastern Cape says it was the smell of a decomposing corpse and flies that led the family to his niece’s body after she was swept away during flooding a week ago. Thousands of families in the OR Tambo District Municipality are stranded and cut […]

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has warned of the possibility of heavy rainfall, which may result in widespread significant flooding in Limpopo and Mpumalanga. Later this week, very heavy rainfall in the order of 200 to 400 mm is possible in Vhembe and Mopani in Limpopo, and to a slightly lesser extent, Ehlanzeni in […]

Environmental group Green Connection is lobbying French MPs and members of the European Parliament to hold French corporation TotalEnergies to account for its “ocean grab” in South African waters. Environmental group Green Connection is lobbying members of the French and European parliaments about TotalEnergies’ offshore oil and gas projects in South African oceans. French NGO […]

Tropical cyclone Freddy was, on 21 February 2023, bearing down on Mauritius and Madagascar. Mauritius grounded flights and, news agency Reuters reported, emergency teams in four regions of Madagascar were braced for “heavy rains, floods and landslides”. A day earlier the Mauritius Meteorological Services issued a Class 3 cyclone warning, saying estimated gusts in the […]

The City of Cape Town is considering treating up to 39-million litres of essentially raw sewage pumped out to sea daily via three marine outfalls, the first of which was built 122 years ago. The City of Cape Town’s permits to discharge sewage at three marine outfalls, two of them in Marine Protected Areas, have […]

Pregnant mothers living in air pollution hotspots in South Africa risk bearing a child with a congenital birth anomaly; specifically orofacial cleft lip and palate (CLP). This is according to research done by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) in partnership with surgeons, researchers and Operation Smile. The research was presented this month at […]