the cause of water scarcity in cape town
drought
title: Cape Town water crisis text: urban users were relatively successful in reducing water demand, the severe drought from 2015 to 2017, perhaps with a recurrence interval of about 1 in 300 years, required the City and all users to implement severe restrictions. The cause of the water crisis in the Western Cape was the extreme drought that exceeded the planning norms of the Department of Water and Sanitation, which is responsible for the planning of all surface and ground water supplies. It is believed that water scarcity, caused by an extreme drought, was exacerbated by 50% population growth in the last decade, agricultural usage, invasive title: Cape Town water crisis text: plant species, and inadequate response to imposed restrictions. Although the rainfall pattern tends to cycle between different stations, there were a clear decline since 2016. A study conducted by the Climate System Analysis Group at the University of Cape Town undertook statistical analyses and determined that the low rainfall between the years 2015 and 2017 was a very rare and extreme event. Some scientists believe that the drought may have been exacerbated by climate change with a one degree Celsius increase in temperature over the past century. Models predict that the average temperature in Cape Town will increase by another title: Cape Town water crisis text: Cape Town water crisis The Cape Town water crisis in South Africa began in 2015, resulting in a severe water shortage in the region, most notably affecting the City of Cape Town. In early 2018, the dam levels were predicted to decline to critically low levels by April, the City announced plans for "Day Zero", when the municipal water supply would largely be shut off if a particular lower limit of water storage was reached, potentially making Cape Town the first major city to run out of water. Through water saving measures and water supply augmentation, the City had reduced title: Cape Town water crisis text: 0.25 degrees Celsius in the next ten years, which may increase the likelihood and severity of drought. Climate modelling suggests a likely decrease in rainfall, and it has been suggested that the recent drought may be the first evidence supporting this prediction. There is additional concern that several other cities may have similar occurrences of water scarcity. A concern is that the Western Cape Water Supply System is based on the hydrological records of previous years. Climate change may alter precipitation patterns, leading to less stable sources of water and higher rates of water evaporation. Agriculture uses about 29% of title: Cape Town water crisis text: the water supplied by the Western Cape Water Supply System, and was also severely restricted during the period of drought. After good rains in 2013 and 2014, the City of Cape Town began experiencing a drought in 2015, the first of three consecutive years of dry winters brought on possibly by the El Niño weather pattern and perhaps by climate change. Water levels in the City's dams declined from 71.9 percent in 2014 to 50.1 percent in 2015. On 1 January 2016, previous water restrictions of Level 1 from 2005 had been lifted to Level 2 by the City and