Has the rainfall in Cape Town already peaked for the season?

Surprisingly enough, last month was one of the wettest months of June we’ve had in nearly the past decade. But as it stands, there is barely enough to show for it in our dams.

So how bad is the drought crisis? Probably worse than many believe it to be. To prove the decline of rainfall over the past five years, we have compared the annual rainfall data since the year 2012.

The Climate System Analysis Group (CSAG) at the University of Cape Town has developed a rainfall calculator which enables us to view the effects of the ongoing drought in graphs formulated through data analysis.

Cape Town rainfall 2
A rainfall comparison between the years 2012 and 2017.
Cape Town rainfall
A rainfall comparison between the years 2013 and 2017.
Cape Town rainfall 2
A rainfall comparison between the years 2014 and 2017.
Cape Town rainfall 3
A rainfall comparison between the years 2015 and 2017.
Cape Town rainfall 4
A rainfall comparison between the years 2016 and 2017.

A clear drop can be seen – particularly over the past two years. Within that short space of time, we’ve seen the hottest day ever recorded in Cape Town as well as the longest and worst drought in living memory.

A 14-day forecast by YR reveals two cold fronts due to touch down in the Cape, the first making its way here by Sunday. Both weather patterns are not expected to bring a significant amount of rainfall, so the situation continues to worsen.

 

 

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