While Cape Town and parts of the Western Cape experienced torrential downpours over the past weekend, the rest of the country experienced the complete opposite: drought.

It is set to be the worst drought in the country since 1982 and is exposing structural problems in the country’s water systems. Running behind schedule and over budget, upgrades to the infrastructure are yet to meet deadlines. This has been coming for years as this year sees the country’s fourth consecutive drier-than-average weather. Supply reductions to some areas may be implemented should the level of reserves worsen.

But why? The El-Nino effect.

The water situation in South Africa has been a crisis waiting to happen for a long time – but seemingly always in the future with a difficult-to-see trigger. The El Nino event that hit South Africa in March – and may have another six months at least to go – has been the trigger that has exposed structural weaknesses on water security.

[Incase you need a little more information on the El Nino]

an irregularly occurring and complex series of climatic changes affecting the equatorial Pacific region and beyond every few years, characterized by the appearance of unusually warm, nutrient-poor water off northern Peru and Ecuador, typically in late December. The effects of El Niño include reversal of wind patterns across the Pacific, drought in Australasia and the Sub-Sahara, and unseasonal heavy rain in South America.

The worst hit will be the farmers in South Africa – the continent’s biggest corn producer – who will have to reduce 2016 season plantings of the grain to the smallest since 2011 because of poor rains in the main growing regions. This lower corn production will knock 25 basis points off 2016 gross domestic product with another 4 basis-point reduction from imports.

Together with our constant political struggles, Eskom power cuts and economic crisis, being burdened by extreme weather conditions is something we don’t necessarily need right now, is it?

[source: iol]