‘Use water sparingly’: Western Cape rainfall hits record low, with driest July in decades | News24

Theewaterskloof Dam on 24 April 2018.

• Cape Town International Airport recorded just 14.4mm of rain in July, the lowest July rainfall since 1958, according to the SA Weather Service.
• A persistent Atlantic high-pressure system pushed cold fronts south, leaving much of the south-western Western Cape with record-low July rainfall figures.
• The weather service warned that a strengthening El Niño could bring a warmer-than-normal summer, and it urged residents to use water sparingly. 

Cape Town International Airport recorded its lowest July rainfall since 1958, receiving just 14.4mm of rain during the month, according to the South African Weather Service (SAWS).

The recent figure broke through the previous July low of 18mm, which was set in 1987, and formed part of a broader pattern in which several parts of the south-western Western Cape recorded their driest July figures on record.

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“This is only about 16% of the average at the airport,” senior forecaster Wayne Venter said.

Venter said that the unusually dry conditions followed several severe weather systems that brought widespread rainfall to parts of the Western Cape during May and early June, significantly boosting dam levels in much of the province.

However, since then, a strong blocking Atlantic high-pressure system to the west of the country has driven cold frontal systems farther south in the province.

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“This significantly reduced the number of cold fronts that made landfall in the Western Cape, with only three weak cold fronts moving over the south-western Cape during July,” he said.

Venter said the south-western Cape was the country’s winter rainfall region, with most of its annual precipitation typically falling between June and August.

According to Venter, preliminary data showed that several weather stations recorded either their lowest July rainfall since records began, or their lowest rainfall since previous records were established.

Among the stations that recorded record-low July rainfall were SA Observatory, which received just 15.6mm, breaking a record that had stood since 1935; Malmesbury with 3.2mm, its lowest since 1993; Kirstenbosch with 65mm, surpassing its previous record from 1997; Hermanus with 12mm, beating the 2005 record; and Paarl with 27.6mm, the lowest since 2009.

Venter said:

Looking ahead, the weather service warned that the expected strengthening of El Niño in the coming months increased the likelihood of a warmer-than-normal summer over the Western Cape.

“Given the current uncertainty regarding rainfall during the 2027 winter season, the public is encouraged to use water sparingly in the coming months,” Venter said.