"If climate change is a shark, then water is its
teeth". This quote from James P. Bruce, a Canadian
hydrogeologist, has never seemed more relevant to the South African
context than today in light of recent extreme flooding and drought
events.
A warmer atmosphere holds more water vapour and when that water
is released it can have devastating effects, as parts of Kwa-Zulu
Natal experienced in 2022. A warmer atmosphere can also result in
lower rainfall in other regions, such as the crippling droughts
experienced in Gqeberha in 2022 and in Cape Town in 2018.
There is increasing awareness of the environmental, economic,
geopolitical and social risks that water insecurity poses globally.
The Global Risks Report, published by the World Economic Forum in 2023, for example, states that
"[c]limate and environmental risks are the core focus of
global risks perceptions over the next decade – and are the
risks for which we are seen to be the least prepared".
The top three
