South Africa has experienced some extreme weather events in recent months. These have included floods and an uncommon tornado in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, floods in the Eastern Cape and mid-latitude cyclones in the Western Cape. Kaitano Dube, a human geographer who has researched tourism, extreme weather and resilience to climatic threats, says these severe storms are set to disrupt tourism.
Is climate change affecting tourism in South Africa?
The increase in carbon emissions has caused a rise in global temperature, a key driver of climate change. In the past two years, and 2024 in particular, temperatures have reached record highs. The number and severity of extreme weather events and associated damage and losses from these have increased worldwide.
