Durban — A leading academic has revealed how the ocean will continue supercharging the atmosphere, resulting in harsher weather conditions in Durban and the rest of the province, leading to massive infrastructure damage and loss of lives. The harsh weather will be in the form of rain and wind storms, cyclones and floods, and climate change is the primary source of this, according to Professor Kaitano Dube of the Vaal University of Technology.
Dube warned that coastal regions, including the Eastern Cape and Western Cape, need to act promptly by investing in proper infrastructure with early warning systems or risk severe destruction of properties and loss of lives in the near future.
His warning comes as KZN and the Western Cape continue counting the costs stemming from the recent runaway fires and heavy rains. Dube said tourism would bear the brunt if all role-players in the ecosystem, including the government and business, did not act promptly.
“The fact is it is important for everyone concerned in this area to be proactive so we not only save lives but save jobs and livelihoods as well.
“Part of it means that these warning signals get taken seriously and response plans are not allowed to just rot in storage facilities but have budgets so that they are activated.”
Dube said it was important for municipalities to review new developments, especially where new settlements are constructed, pointing to how such planning could help save properties and key infrastructure.
He said while municipalities did not have financial muscle, it was critical for the government to assist with the provision of protection from disasters by a greater amount of planning.
Dube said the research, which started in 2016, was prompted by warnings that the Victoria Falls and Okavango Delta were already drying up. This was due to climate change and this was set to have major negative effects on the tourism industry in South Africa.
“What some did not realise then was that most of the tourism operators were from South Africa. Tourists going to Botswana or Zimbabwe would use private airlines from OR Tambo, King Shaka and Cape Town airports. Therefore, anything that happened in the two rivers would have such an effect,” Dube added.
The most recent disasters, including the 2022 floods and the cylone this year, showed the impact of climate change.
“The ocean supercharges the atmosphere and makes the possibility of a cyclone much more regular. But we are also seeing waves rising and becoming more intense and there is no doubt that we will see more of this in future,” Dube said.
He insisted that KZN and eThekwini in particular were in a vulnerable position and steps needed to be taken, including a rethink of developments and infrastructure so that they did not become prone to destruction, as well as the development of an early warning systems and a budget to fund their operation.
He included developing greater collaboration between coastal regions including KZN, the Eastern Cape and Western Cape as the three provinces were more prone to climate change-related disasters.
“Action plans should be developed with all scenarios considered and the latest research should not be allowed to gather dust in the repository.”
According to Dube, while the government should lead the process, private sector players in the tourism industry should not take a passenger approach but become co-drivers in order to avoid future disasters.
“The fact of the matter is that private operators are responsible for a great percentage of carbon emissions and, if they play their part at reducing these, then the impact of climate change would be reduced,” he said.
Sunday Tribune