Thoughts on current political and financial developments, travel, climate and the environment with a humorous twist where possible
Drought concerns have to some extent shifted from the Western Cape to the Eastern Cape, influenced by the plight of Port Elizabeth (PE) and neighbouring towns and the low level of its important Kouga Dam feeder, currently at 6.8% of capacity (15% a year ago). Fortunately, and not typically commented on, PE is not reliant… Continue reading South African Water Crises
The State of the Climate is a peer reviewed publication compiled each year by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and issued as a supplement to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. The report acknowledges over 500 contributors and editors. Given their position as the driving forces of climate change, concentrations of carbon dioxide,… Continue reading The State of the Climate in 2017
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Frozen British Pensions met on 17 July. The chairman, Sir Roger Gale, opened by commenting on the Brexit situation, noting that the government position was that EU resident British pensioners would continue to be uprated. He felt that this, particularly in the context of a no-deal Brexit, would likely undermine… Continue reading Frozen British Pensions Update July 2018
Those living in sub-tropical regions sometimes permit themselves a smile when reading about heat waves in Europe but the weather has been quite extreme in the northern summer from fires in Greece to heatwaves in UK and fires again in California (though to date affecting a smaller area than in 2017). World Weather Attribution (WWA)… Continue reading Climate Update July 2018
The 2015 Paris deal targeted a global temperature rise above pre-(large scale) industrial levels (PIL), for this purpose taken as 1850 to 1900, of no more than 2°C and ideally limited to 1.5°C. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was tasked with producing a report on the impact of a 1.5°C rise and “the… Continue reading IPCC Latest Draft on Global Warming
South Africa's Business Day newspaper, commenting on The Future we Don't Want - How Climate Change could Impact the World's Greatest Cities prepared by C40 Cities and others recounted how 800 million people living in 570 cities will be vulnerable to rising sea levels with Cape Town, Paarl and George most at risk in South… Continue reading Rising Sea Levels
The drought situation has eased greatly over the last three weeks although restoring ground water and dam levels is inevitably a long process after such a prolonged drought. The following table illustrates the three week improvement and, even more significantly, the favourable comparison with last year. Figure 1. Dam Levels in the Western Cape as… Continue reading Western Cape Drought Eases
