Over the past few years South Africa has been experiencing one of the most extreme droughts in recent history. Many experts consider the dry season of 2015/2016 to be the worst drought in almost 25 years, but the 2016/2017 dry season looks likely to be rated even worse. During the 2016/2017 dry season dam levels in most provinces dropped below those of 2015/2016 and some provinces, such as the Western Cape, are still firmly in the grip of the drought.
There are a number of factors affecting South Africa’s current water situation. This interactive feature explains some of the major issues.
View the full interactive feature here.