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The purpose of the present paper is to examine a selection of macro- and micro-linguistic features (at text and sentence/word level respectively) of the South-African Green Paper 'National Climate Change Response' from 2010. Our overarching assumption is that the Green Paper needs to handle competing interests, beliefs and voices in a narrative structure favouring specific courses of action. How does the government portray the complex natural and societal phenomenon of climate change, and how does it take into account the many and often competing national and international views and interests which come into play? Our hypothesis is that the Green Paper constructs a narrative and that it relates to a number of voices other than that of the authors, through linguistic markers of polyphony, such as negation, sentence connectives, adverbs and reported speech. Thus we propose a narrative and polyphonic analysis of the Green Paper, at the level of the text as a whole (macro-level) but also with attention to linguistic constructions of polyphony or 'multi-voicedness' (micro-level). We find that the narrative-polyphonic properties of the Green Paper contribute to a strategy for building consensus on climate change policy. The South African government assumes the role of main hero in its own climate change 'story', and there are subtle forms of interaction with different and typically non-identified voices, such as concessive constructions and presuppositions. These results support our overarching interpretation of the whole document as striving to impose a South African consensus on the issue of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: While much has been debated about venture formation and demise, the behavioral dynamics of why entrepreneurs intend to continue and persevere post-startup have received scant attention and scrutiny. Building upon the rich tapestry of entrepreneurial cognition, the purpose of this paper is to forward entrepreneurial continuance logic as a theoretical framework to empirically investigate the antecedents, contingencies and mediators of entrepreneurial continuance. Design/methodology/approach: Using observations from surveying 156 practicing entrepreneurs across the USA, UK, South Africa and India, this research offers interesting findings. Findings: Results surface attitudinal tensions between the transactional attitudes of entrepreneurial climate, entrepreneurial responsiveness and calculative commitment and the relational attitudes of affective and normative continuance. Specifically, the authors find that affect is the strongest direct predictor of continuance intentions but only in the absence of entrepreneurial responsiveness behavior. Research limitations/implications: Entrepreneurial responsiveness, rather than commitment, is found to be a core continuance constituent, traceable as a positive influence on continuance as a direct antecedent, a moderator and a mediator. Practical implications: The research reveals that entrepreneurs willing to seize and adapt to a changing entrepreneurial landscape are more like to continue with their ventures, but not just driven by strict underpinnings of affect and norms but by a strong sense of economic rationality. Social implications: Entrepreneurial continuance is an important behavioral phenomenon with substantial socio-economic consequences. Given the scant attention paid to entrepreneurial continuance – symptomatic of broader downstream effects of entrepreneurial survival and positive socio-economic spillovers, the authors embark on a systematic investigation of continuance intention as post-startup behavior. Originality/value: The paper explains post-startup entrepreneurial behavior in several ways. First, while affective commitment, a relational attitude, still drives continuance intentions, calculative commitment, a transactional attitude, is a significant contender. Interestingly, the nature of contemporary entrepreneurship disregards continuance behavior based on norms. Second, entrepreneurial responsiveness needs to be cautiously examined in relationship to commitment and continuance. Entrepreneurial responsiveness, a transactional attitude, positively influences continuance; however, in the presence of a relational attitude such as affective commitment, the interplay reduces continuance intentions. Third, perceptions of entrepreneurial climate are found to trigger more opportunity-seeking behavior among entrepreneurs, which in turn increases an entrepreneur's intention to continue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The negligible levels of energy-related GHG emissions attributable to the Southern African subregion translates into the sub-region contributing relatively little towards global climate change. Notwithstanding, the member states comprising the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are among the most vulnerable to the trans boundary effects of global climate change. Existing SADC climate change policy documents highlight the important role of the energy sector in climate change mitigation. Furthermore, various international, African Union and SADC legal instruments stress the crucial role of harmonised law and policy as climate change adaptive measure. It is the central hypothesis of this paper that harmonised subregional law and policy aimed at regulating SADC member states' mitigation efforts in the energy sector is a crucial climate change adaptive strategy. This hypothesis is based on the mandates for the formulation of a SADC climate change action plan and for mitigation in the energy sector. These mandates are contained in the texts of the SADC-CNGO Climate Change Agenda, 2012 and the Southern Africa Sub - Regional Framework on Climate Change, 2010 respectively. It is the main aim of this paper to investigate recent developments in the formulation of harmonised SADC law and policy on climate change in general and law and policy pertaining to mitigation in the energy sector specifically. In achieving the stated aim, themes to be investigated by means of a literature study are those of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions and global climate change and harmonised sub-regional policy on mitigation in the energy sector as adaptive measure in the SADC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to provide useful information about climate conditions of transcontinental shipments from Hungary and compare them to the climate profiles of conditioning standards. The climatic environments inside ISO intermodal containers carrying automotive products to three different destinations in India, China and South Africa were measured. All three recorded surveys contain temperature and relative humidity data while the containers were stored outdoors and indoors and travelled on truck, rail and ship. The measured data was analyzed and mean statistical values of daily temperature and RH shifts were determined for each route. The recorded data shows that 50 % of maximum temperature and RH shifts occurred in the EU continent. Temperature and relative humidity distribution as a function of cumulative percentages [%] of the duration of total shipping was also determined and compared to the climate profiles of conditioning standards. It shows that peak temperature and RH ranges occur mostly in the defined duration of conditioning testing time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change adds an additional layer of complexity to existing sustainable development and biodiversity conservation challenges. The impacts of global climate change are felt locally, and thus local governance structures will increasingly be responsible for preparedness and local responses. Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) options are gaining prominence as relevant climate change solutions. Local government officials seldom have an appropriate understanding of the role of ecosystem functioning in sustainable development goals, or access to relevant climate information. Thus the use of ecosystems in helping people adapt to climate change is limited partially by the lack of information on where ecosystems have the highest potential to do so. To begin overcoming this barrier, Conservation South Africa in partnership with local government developed a socio-ecological approach for identifying spatial EbA priorities at the sub-national level. Using GIS-based multi-criteria analysis and vegetation distribution models, the authors have spatially integrated relevant ecological and social information at a scale appropriate to inform local level political, administrative, and operational decision makers. This is the first systematic approach of which we are aware that highlights spatial priority areas for EbA implementation. Nodes of socio-ecological vulnerability are identified, and the inclusion of areas that provide ecosystem services and ecological resilience to future climate change is innovative. The purpose of this paper is to present and demonstrate a methodology for combining complex information into user-friendly spatial products for local level decision making on EbA. The authors focus on illustrating the kinds of products that can be generated from combining information in the suggested ways, and do not discuss the nuance of climate models nor present specific technical details of the model outputs here. Two representative case studies from rural South Africa demonstrate the replicability of this approach in rural and peri-urban areas of other developing and least developed countries around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local climate governance has become a key focus of the climate change agenda. Much research has been conducted on the topic in northern countries, but more research is needed in the South, where local governments often are less equipped to deal with challenges associated with climate change. This paper discusses different forms of local climate governance, with a specific focus on the relevance of networks. Local climate governance in eThekwini Municipality, South Africa, is used as a case study, particularly focusing on a campaign that was implemented in 2011 before the international climate conference (COP17). The modes of governing in eThekwini are considered through a framework of local climate governing and identified mainly as self-governing and governing through enabling, the campaign being an example of the latter. The campaign also exemplifies how network governance can shape climate policy and significantly alter a project from initiation to implementation. While networks can contribute to improved communication and information exchange, there may be an inherent risk of private partners having a perverse incentive against implementing effective climate policies due to their own interests in maintaining current structures. It is not clear whether the change from regulative governance to governing by enabling will lead to more effective climate policies in the longer term. More research is required to determine this. While this study is too small to make broader generalizations, it does provide insight into how the introduction of network governance may impact climate governance at the local level in the South. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across South Africa, a wide range of activities is influenced by differences in seasonality. In a South African context, there is little consensus on the timing of seasonal boundaries. Inconsistency exists through the use of ad-hoc approaches to define seasonal boundaries across South Africa. In this paper, we present one of the very first uniform statistical classifications of South African seasonal divisions on the basis of daily temperature data. Daily maximum and minimum temperature data were obtained from 35 selected South African Weather Service meteorological stations that had sufficiently complete data sets and homogeneous time series, spanning the period 1980--2015. An Euclidean cluster analysis was performed using Ward's D method. We found that the majority of the stations can be classified into four distinct seasons, with the remaining 12 stations' data best classified into three seasons, using Tavg as the classifier. The statistically classified seasonal brackets include summer (October/November/December/ January/February/March), early autumn (April) and late autumn (May), winter (June/July/August), and spring (September). Exploring the boundaries of seasons, the start of summer and end of winter months follow a southwest to northeastwards spatial pattern across the country. Summers start later and winters end later in the southwestern parts of the country, whereas in the northeast, summers start earlier and winters end earlier. Significance: * The findings contribute to the common knowledge of seasonality in South Africa. * New seasonal divisions in South Africa are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines power relations, coalitions and conflicts that drive and hinder institutional change in South African climate policy. The analysis finds that the most contested climate policies are those that create distributional conflicts where powerful, non-poor actors will potentially experience real losses to their fossil fuel-based operations. This finding opposes the assumption of competing objectives between emissions and poverty reduction. Yet, actors use discourse that relates to potentially competing objectives between emissions reductions, jobs, poverty reduction and economic welfare. The analysis relates to the broader questions on how to address public policy problems that affect the two objectives of mitigating climate change and simultaneously boosting socio-economic development. South Africa is a middle-income country that represents the challenge of accommodating simultaneous efforts for emissions and poverty reduction. Institutional change has been constrained especially in the process towards establishing climate budgets and a carbon tax. The opposing coalitions have succeeded in delaying the implementation of these processes, as a result of unequal power relations. Institutional change in South African climate policy can be predominantly characterized as layering with elements of policy innovation. New policies build on existing regulations in all three cases of climate policy examined: the climate change response white paper, the carbon tax and the renewable energy programme. Unbalanced power relations between coalitions of support in government and civil society and opposition mainly from the affected industry result in very fragile institutional change. Key policy insights The South African government has managed to drive institutional change in climate policy significantly over the past 7 years. Powerful coalitions of coal-related industries and their lobbies have constrained institutional change and managed to delay the implementation of carbon pricing measures. A successfully managed renewable energy programme has started to transform a coal- and nuclear-powered electricity sector towards integrating sustainable energy technologies. The programme is vulnerable to intergovernmental opposition and requires management at the highest political levels. Potential conflict with poverty reduction measures is not a major concern that actively hinders institutional change towards climate objectives. Predominantly non-poor actors frequently use poverty-related discourse to elevate their interests to issues of public concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding of how best to support those most vulnerable to climate stress is imperative given expected changes in climate variability. This paper investigates local adaptation strategies to climate variability, focusing on agricultural decision-making in a communal irrigation scheme in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Research done through interviews, surveys and participatory methods demonstrates that adaptation strategies within a community are socially differentiated and present differing objectives and priorities. These results highlight the need for intervention and policy that support a heterogeneous response to a wide range of stresses. Evidence for climate change is clear and the need for adaptation is urgent. However, adaptation measures have to be sensitively integrated with ongoing development pathways to ensure they are sustainable and relevant to local priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abrahamskraal–Boshof district is a farming area located in the dry semi-arid west-central part of South Africa’s Free State Province. The semi-arid, continental climate only permits dryland commercial agriculture of maize, sunflowers and stock farming. Land degradation is a problem throughout the world, is particularly more problematic in the developing countries where large parts are already degraded. The role of climate variability and biophysical factors as causes of land degradation are often overlooked. With general circulation models predicting an increase in aridity, particularly for areas in the lower latitudes, droughts will play an increasingly larger role in the promotion of land degradation in South Africa. This pilot study explores the causes of land degradation in the West-Central Free State though the use of geographical data, climatological data-sets of the past 20 years and narratives from the local farmers. The paper looks at whether farmers perceive climate variability, biophysical factors or human activities as the primary cause of land degradation. Climatological data largely correlate with most of the farmer’s perceptions of drought. Land degradation is present in all the farms where the farmers farm with Bonsmara cattle and sheep; they do not allow cattle and sheep to graze together in a paddock and keep a slightly higher stocking rate. Despite these findings, farmers largely lay the blame for the degradation on the geophysical environment of the area. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Flux towers provide essential terrestrial climate, water, and radiation budget information needed for environmental monitoring and evaluation of climate change impacts on ecosystems and society in general. They are also intended for calibration and validation of satellite-based Earth observation and monitoring efforts, such as assessment of evapotranspiration from land and vegetation surfaces using surface energy balance approaches. In this paper, 15 years of Skukuza eddy covariance data, i.e. from 2000 to 2014, were analysed for surface energy balance closure (EBC) and partitioning. The surface energy balance closure was evaluated using the ordinary least squares regression (OLS) of turbulent energy fluxes (sensible (H) and latent heat (LE)) against available energy (net radiation (Rn) less soil heat (G)), and the energy balance ratio (EBR). Partitioning of the surface energy during the wet and dry seasons was also investigated, as well as how it is affected by atmospheric vapour pressure deficit (VPD), and net radiation. After filtering years with low-quality data (2004-2008), our results show an overall mean EBR of 0.93. Seasonal variations of EBR also showed the wet season with 1.17 and spring (1.02) being closest to unity, with the dry season (0.70) having the highest imbalance. Nocturnal surface energy closure was very low at 0.26, and this was linked to low friction velocity during night-time, with results showing an increase in closure with increase in friction velocity. The energy partition analysis showed that sensible heat flux is the dominant portion of net radiation, especially between March and October, followed by latent heat flux, and lastly the soil heat flux, and during the wet season where latent heat flux dominated sensible heat flux. An increase in net radiation was characterized by an increase in both LE and H, with LE showing a higher rate of increase than H in the wet season, and the reverse happening during the dry season. An increase in VPD is correlated with a decrease in LE and increase in H during the wet season, and an increase in both fluxes during the dry season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reporting to the public on climate change impacts, adaptation, and mitigation requires journalists to be equipped to engage with a wide range of technical content in order to communicate it in an accessible and engaging way. Recognizing the need for journalists from a wide range of backgrounds, including those from community newspapers and radio stations in South Africa, to be able to undertake this task, the South African Department of Environment Affairs in partnership with GIZ commissioned the authors to develop and deliver a four-day climate change reporting training programme. This paper presents an overview of the structure and content of the course, and details the reflections after undertaking such an endeavor. Based on the lessons learned, and an awareness that this kind of training may take place in the context where working community-level journalists may have a low knowledge base (of both the journalistic craft, as well as the content of climate science) the following recommendations emerge: scientific training may need to be combined with basic journalistic training (depending on the participants); learning-by-doing is central to journalists building their capacity in climate reporting training; and mother-tongue delivery of material is critical to the success of such technical training courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In 2005, the South African Weather Service installed a state-of-the-art cloud-to-ground lightning detection network across the country. The data recorded by this network in 2006 was utilised in the development of an initial lightning climatology of South Africa. Until 2010, this climatology was based on data from a single year. This paper updates this climatology with the lightning data for the 2006-2010 period, which is the first actual lightning climatology by the South African Weather Service based on data covering 5 years. A number of different maps were created from these lightning data. These were lightning ground flash density, median peak kiloampere, percentage positive and average flash multiplicity maps. These four maps were in turn used to develop lightning intensity risk, positive lightning risk and total lightning risk maps. Analysis of the maps showed that the highest concentrations of lightning are found over the central to northern interior of the country, with areas along the northern parts of the eastern escarpment experiencing the highest flash densities and falling within the extreme risk category. Both the positive and total lightning risks are severe for almost the entire country. Only towards the west of the country does the lightning risk decrease. This lightning climatology can now be used throughout South Africa for various disciplines. It will be especially useful for setting lightning safety standards and identifying priority areas for installing lightning conductors and conducting public awareness campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses water availability and use within and between the Challenge Program on Water and Food basins. It describes the main features of water demand and supply in the basins and indicates where there are deficits and opportunities for development of water resources. A typology of basin water resources status uses a range of global spatial datasets. The main outcomes of basin activities on water availability are identified. Interbasin assessment of water availability is very challenging for such very large basins, due in large part to difficulties in collecting and integrating local data sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global average surface temperature has increased by approximately 0.74 °C over the most recent 100-year period. At a regional level in South Africa, detectable changes in both the rainfall and temperature patterns have occurred in the past 50 years. Climate change has become a reality that can no longer be ignored. Given the relatively long timescales of plant-to-harvest rotations in the commercial production forestry sector in South Africa, and the significant investment implied, climate change has the potential to have substantial impacts on forestry productivity and profitability. Under climate change conditions the climatically optimum areas for specific forest species are hypothesised to shift, with optimum areas changing in extent and location between and within provinces. This paper focuses on the Eucalyptus and Pinus genera. From the ICFR Forestry Productivity Toolbox, climate criteria for three Pinus species plus one hybrid, and four Eucalyptus species plus one hybrid, were used in combination with gridded maps of present mean annual temperature and mean annual rainfall to assess climatically optimum, moderate- and high-risk growth areas, as well as unsuitable growth areas over southern Africa. The temperature and rainfall variables were then perturbed through plausible ranges of projected future climates to determine the potential impacts of climate change on the climatically optimum, moderate and unsuitable growth areas of the Pinus and Eucalyptus families. For both families, rising temperatures may slightly increase the optimum growth area in Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape, whereas in KwaZulu-Natal the area may reduce. The Pinus species showed less sensitivity to rising temperatures than eucalypts. The two hybrids exhibited less sensitivity than other species of their genera. The hybrid Pinus ExC emerged as least sensitive to increasing temperature. Declining rainfall concomitant with rising temperature will have an especially negative effect on total area of optimal growth. An increase in rainfall will, however, offset all negative impacts of temperature and increase total optimum growth area for both families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a sample of South African firms, this paper analyzes the relationships of firm performance and a set of organizational measures which includes organizational culture and climate, market orientation and innovativeness. These organizational measures are drawn from three different disciplines-organizational behavior, strategy and economics. The replicative study is framed in an extended model of competing organizational values which have been used in 13 countries including three transition economies (Vietnam, China and Russia). The work has also been done under a variety of conditions-for example, the US in a period of study growth, Thailand during the Asian Crisis and Hong Kong after the handover to China. Comparisons are made between South African results and those of firms from a group of five industrial countries. Market Orientation is the most important explainer of performance of the South African firms, and Innovativeness is also important. Specific elements of Organizational Culture are apparently less important in South Africa than elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to review progress in the fields of atmospheric science and physical oceanography made by workers based at South African institutions over approximately the last 5 years. Research published by South African scientists working abroad is not included. Most published research in these fields falls within the broad areas of climate variability, climate change, aerosols and atmospheric pollution, seasonal forecasting, numerical modelling (both atmospheric and oceanic), and the physical oceanography of the Agulhas and Benguela current systems. Most but not all of the atmospheric science papers relate to South Africa or southern Africa; however, some work pertaining to the southern hemisphere as a whole or to other regions has been done. We note that funding and institutional support for atmospheric science and physical oceanography research in South Africa remains poor and this situation significantly hampers local efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Rainfall reliability has been neglected as a determinant of plant trait convergence and divergence in mediterranean-climate ecosystems. This paper reports on patterns of rainfall reliability — quantified as interannual variation in monthly and seasonal rainfall, and as the frequency of individual events in terms of their size, duration and intensity — for four fire-prone mediterranean-climate ecosystems. Location The four mediterranean-climate regions of the world with fire-prone ecosystems, namely SW Cape (South Africa), SW Australia, California and the Mediterranean Basin (Andalusia, Spain). Methods Using long-term monthly rainfall data from stations dispersed across the four regions, we computed monthly means and interannual variation for each month of the year — the latter quantified as the coefficient of variation (CV) — and divided these into winter and summer seasons. We also computed the mean number of rainfall events, the mean frequency in various categories of event duration (days), the amount of rainfall per event (mm) and the rainfall intensity per event (mm/day) per year for winter and summer seasons for a subset of the rainfall stations. Results The fraction of rain falling in summer was lowest in California (5%) and similarly low ( c. 25%) in the other three regions. The hierarchy of values of coefficient of variation (CV) of monthly rainfall during the winter period was as follows: California > Andalusia >> SW Cape > SW Australia; results for summer were: California > > Andalusia >> SW Australia ∼ SW Cape. SW Australian sites experienced the greatest frequency of short, small and low-intensity rainfall events in both seasons; patterns in the SW Cape were intermediate between Australia and the two northern hemisphere sites which both received fewer, larger and more intense events. Overall, the two southern hemisphere regions (SW Australia and the SW Cape) had significantly more reliable regimes than the two northern hemisphere ones (Mediterranean Basin and California). Main conclusions These differences in rainfall reliability regimes may provide a novel perspective on the distribution of certain plant life-history traits in mediterranean-climate ecosystems. Less reliable regimes would select for germination and seedling survival traits that enable persistence of genets in the face of uncertain moisture conditions during the winter and spring establishment phase. Study systems that accommodate for phylogenetic constraints, namely invasive species derived from mediterranean-climate ecosystems, as well as shared lineages, provide good opportunities to develop and test hypotheses on the implication of different rainfall reliability regimes. One of the novel implications of this study is that the distinctive trait of assemblages in the southern hemisphere regions may be a consequence not so much of their shared nutrient-poor soils as of their similarly reliable rainfall regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnitude of annual global emissions of methane from municipal solid waste landfills without landfill gas control systems implies that these landfills are significant contributors to the atmospheric load of greenhouse gases. There have been a number of field studies undertaken internationally to measure actual fluxes of methane and carbon dioxide from landfills, with a view to corroborating modelled predictions of the contribution of landfills to the global greenhouse gas budget. The vast majority of these studies have been undertaken in more temperate climates and in developed countries. This paper reports a study of landfill gas emissions from four large landfills located in the semi-arid interior of South Africa. A static accumulation chamber was used and measurements were made at each site over a period of two to three days. The results were analysed by three different methods, all of them leading to the same general conclusion that landfill gas emission rates were lower than expected. A common conclusion based on results from all four sites was that capping of landfills in semi-arid climates with low permeability covers would probably significantly retard the already low rate of waste degradation and thus gas generation. While this may be regarded as advantageous in the short term, it cannot be relied upon in perpetuity as clayey landfill covers will inevitably desiccate and crack in a semiarid environment. In addition, reasonable after-care periods for such landfills are likely to extend well beyond the currently stipulated 30-year period, and efforts to encourage energy recovery from landfills may be hampered because gas generation rates decrease as the waste dries out under conditions of minimal recharge from precipitation. A landfill cover that allows small amounts of percolation of rainfall into the waste may therefore in fact be beneficial in semiarid climates, although care would need to be taken to carefully regulate this infiltration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Audit quality is the pivot around which the audit profession resolves. Audit quality is only achievable when audit firms boast a quality-oriented culture, reflected in its audit quality climate. This study aimed to investigate whether the organisational climate in audit firms is quality-oriented. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study followed a quantitative research methodology to explore the organisational climate dimensions that non-executive employees (from first-year trainee auditors to senior audit managers), working in major audit firms in South Africa and for the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA), consider indicative of audit quality. The study used Patterson's Organisational Climate Measure (OCM) as a departure point to develop the study's questionnaire. Findings: The findings showed that Patterson's organisational climate dimensions are not all relevant to an audit quality climate in audit firms, and that additional dimensions come into play. Also, statistically significant differences were found between the perceptions of non-executive employees at a Big 4 audit firm, and those of second-tier audit firms and the AGSA, concerning their firm's quality orientation. Research Limitations/Implications: This study was limited to the South African context and the results cannot be generalised to the international context. Originality/Value: This study illuminated the organisational culture and -climate in audit firms. It provides insight into the under-researched view of audit employees in the audit quality debate. Such insight can assist audit firm leadership to better manage and promote a quality-orientation amongst employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A climatology of synoptic drylines on the subtropical southern African interior plateau (SAP) is developed using ERA5 reanalysis specific humidity and surface temperature gradients and an objective detection algorithm. Drylines are found to occur regularly during spring and summer (September–March), and almost daily during December of that period, but rarely in winter. A westward shift in peak dryline frequency takes place through the summer. Drylines peak first over the eastern parts of the SAP during November with a mean of 10 drylines and then over the central (mean of 12) and western SAP (mean of 20) in December. During midsummer, drylines over the eastern SAP are negatively correlated with drylines in the west. Between 1980 and 2020, a significant correlation exists between ENSO and dryline days over the eastern (r = 0.44; p value = 0.004) and central (r = 0.41; p value = 0.008) SAP with fewer drylines (up to 10) occurring during years with increased surface moisture and more drylines (up to 45) occurring during years with decreased surface moisture. Drylines forming over the eastern parts of the SAP were more likely to move westward than drylines over the central and western parts. Onset times across the SAP show that drylines have a tendency to form during either the late morning to early afternoon (1100 and 1400 LST) or during the early evening hours (1700 and 2000 LST), suggesting that the surface heat trough (Kalahari heat low) and westward moisture transport mechanisms, such as the Limpopo low-level jet and ridging highs, are responsible for the formation of most drylines across the SAP. Significance Statement: "Drylines" are used to describe boundaries separating regions of very dry air from those with much higher moisture content. The importance of these drylines is that they tend to act as a trigger for thunderstorms, which can produce severe weather. In this study, we build a long-term climatological description of drylines in subtropical southern Africa. We find that drylines are most frequent over eastern South Africa during the early summer, a time when storms with large hail and damaging winds are most likely to occur. Drylines are sensitive to moisture circulation patterns and respond differently during El Niño and La Niña years, with generally more drylines during El Niño over eastern South Africa and fewer during La Niña. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerosol–cloud interactions (ACI) play an essential role in understanding precipitation occurrence and climate change but remains poorly understood. Conducting a climatology study on a regional or global scale constitutes a prospect better to understand ACI and their influence on precipitation and climate. This study analysed the characteristics of ACI over South Africa based on two instruments: the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the multiangle imaging spectroradiometer (MISR) onboard the Terra satellite, and ground-based meteorology data from South Africa Weather Service (SAWS) between 2007–2016. The region mainly splits into the upper, central, and lower sub-regions based on the aerosol loading characteristics. Findings from the study show that depending on the atmospheric conditions, aerosol exhibits dual features of increasing and decreasing the potential formation of precipitating clouds. However, more often, fine-mode predominated aerosols suppress rain-bearing clouds. Furthermore, the cloud top height (CTH) demonstrates an upward increment from the lower to the upper part of the region, and the cloud fraction (CF) is in the downward direction. Both the CF and CTH display the characteristic enhancers of the precipitation intensity, mainly when the initial conditions necessary for rain bearing occurs. Besides, the cloud optical depth (COD) depends significantly on the liquid water path (LWP) and is suggestively associated with the aerosol–vapour ratio ingested into the cloud. Also notably, the temperature over the entire region has generally increased steadily and continuously from 2013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rainfall extremes are of major and increasing importance in semi‐arid countries and their variability has strong implications for water resource and climate impacts on the local societies and environment. Here, we examine intraseasonal descriptors (ISDs) and wet extremes in austral summer rainfall (November–February) over South Africa (SA). Using daily observations from 225 rain gauges and ERA5 reanalysis between 1979 and 2015, we propose a novel typology of wet extreme events based on their spatial fraction, thus differentiating large‐ and small‐scale extremes. Long‐term variability of both types of extreme rainfall events is then extensively discussed in the context of ISDs. The results demonstrate that using 7% of spatial fraction simultaneously exceeding the local threshold of the 90th percentile produces remarkable results in characterizing rainfall extremes into large‐ and small‐scale extremes. Austral summer total rainfall is found to be primarily shaped by large‐scale extremes which constitute more than half of the rainfall amount under observation, and nearly half in ERA5. Observation (ERA5) shows an average of 8 ± 5 (20 ± 7) days per season associated with large‐scale extremes, which are comprised in 5 ± 3 (10 ± 3) spells with an average persistence of at least 2 days. Overall, we find a strong dependence of total rainfall on the number of wet days and wet spells that are associated with large‐scale extremes. We also find that large‐ and small‐scale extremes are well‐organized and spatially coherent in nature yet extreme conditions during small‐scale events are found sporadic over the region, contrasting with large‐scale events for which extreme conditions are found over a larger and coherent region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The east coast of South Africa has been the subject of numerous coastal developments over recent years. The design of such developments requires a thorough analysis of the local wave climate. Richards Bay and Durban's Waverider data are two relatively long east coast data sets (18 years). These data sets have not been formally reviewed since Rossouw (1984) analysed existing wave data for South African and Namibian coastal waters. This paper aims to provide a formal analysis of the KwaZulu-Natal wave data. Seasonal exceedance probability plots, wave roses and typical wave parameter statistics are presented. Return periods for extreme waves are estimated from the generalised extreme value distribution, and the associated limitations are discussed. The average peak period on the east coast of South Africa is 10.0 seconds, the average significant wave height is 1.65 m and the average wave direction is 130 degrees. Autumn has the most frequent and the largest wave events while summer is the only season unlikely to produce either large or frequent events. The recurrence interval of the largest recorded significant wave height (8.5 m) was estimated to be between 32 and 61 year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To optimise the functioning of the grapevine in a specific environment and to improve grape and wine quality, suitability of climatic parameters for key grapevine physiological processes needs to be assessed at fine scales. This paper presents methodology using hourly weather data in three wine producing regions of South Africa (Coastal Region -- Stellenbosch district; Breede River Valley -- Robertson district; Central Orange River Region -- Upington district) during the pre- (November to December) and post-véraison (January to February) periods. Durations inside and outside an optimum climatic range and of extreme climatic conditions were calculated over a 5-year period (1999/2000 to 2003/2004) to quantify a climatic profile related to grapevine physiological requirements. Climatic requirements for optimum photosynthetic activity were defined as follows: temperature 25°C to 30°C, windspeed <4 m/s, relative humidity 60% to 70%. Unsuitable climatic periods for vine performance were calculated as <20°C and >35°C, >4m/s, <50% and >80%. A coefficient was assigned to each climatic parameter according to an assumed importance level for physiological processes. Optimum temperature requirements for other physiological parameters were also investigated. A diurnal minimum/maximum temperature range of 25°C to 30°C was used for sugar content and organic acid levels and a maximum night/day temperature range of 15°C/25°C for colour and lavour. Light intensity was accepted as being sufficient. Stations were classified according to their potential for meeting the climatic requirements of each physiological parameter. Marked variation in climatic profiles and available time for optimal physiological functioning occurred between regions. All factors considered, the climatic profile of the Coastal Region (Stellenbosch district) seemed to best satisfy the climatic requirements of the physiological parameters studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of climate variability on maize yield in the Limpopo Basin of South Africa using the generalized maximum entropy (GME) estimator and maximum entropy leuven estimator (MELE). Precipitation and temperature were used as proxies for climate variability, which were combined with traditional input variables (i.e. labour, fertilizer, seed and irrigation). Based on pseudo R-squared, we found that the GME fits the data better than MELE. In addition, increased precipitation, increased temperature and irrigation have a positive impact on yield. Furthermore, the results of the GME show that the impact of precipitation on maize yield is weaker than that of temperature. However, the impact of climate variability on maize yield could be negative if it increases temperature marginally but reduces precipitation to a very large extent simultaneously. Moreover, the impact of irrigation on yield is positive and with a higher elasticity coefficient than that of precipitation, which supposes that the present system of irrigation could mitigate the impact of reduced precipitation on yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper South Africa is divided into strong wind climate zones, which indicate the main sources of annual maximum wind gusts. By the analysis of wind gust data of 94 weather stations, which had continuous climate time series of 10 years or longer, six sources, or strong-wind producing mechanisms, could be identified and zoned accordingly. The two primary causes of strong wind gusts are thunderstorm activity and extratropical low pressure systems, which are associated with the passage of cold fronts over the southern African subcontinent. Over the eastern and central interior of South Africa annual maximum wind gusts are usually caused by thunderstorm gust fronts during summer, while in the western and southern interior extratropical cyclones play the most dominant role. Along the coast and adjacent interior annual extreme gusts are usually caused by extratropical cyclones. Four secondary sources of strong winds are the ridging of the quasi-stationary Atlantic and Indian Ocean high pressure systems over the subcontinent, surface troughs to the west in the interior with strong ridging from the east, convergence from the interior towards isolated low pressure systems or deep coastal low pressure systems, and deep surface troughs on the West Coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change mitigation poses significant challenges for South Africa and its energy development, historically highly energy intensive. At the same time, the country faces a host of daunting development challenges, exacerbated by the legacy of apartheid. Examining both challenges, this paper considers how alternative conceptions of a development path can be achieved. In the short term, energy efficiency provides large potential for mitigation - and energy savings at the same time. Changing South Africa's fuel mix, dependent to three-quarters on coal, is at least a medium-term challenge. The minerals-energy complex is so central to the economy that it is likely to take decades to change dramatically. The most transformative change is to an alteration in economic structure, likely to take long to achieve. The article examines specific policy instruments that might be implemented to achieve such a transformation. A transition to a low-carbon economy will require a paradigm shift in industrial policy. It will require considered provision for sectors sensitive to changes in energy prices. Building up new, climate-friendly industries will be needed to sustain employment and investment. To enable a just transition, provision will have to be made for emissions-intensive sectors, if they are to be phased out over time. South African government has adopted a vision, strategic direction and framework for climate policy. Policymakers have begun to understand that the future will be carbon constrained and that South Africa's emission will have to stop growing, stabilize and decline before mid-century. The challenge of climate change is a long-term challenge, requiring immediate action. This article examines actions at near-, medium- and long-term timescales. Its focus is on the most transformative change, that of seeking to shift development paths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding different adaptive capacities is a prerequisite for targeting interventions to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change. Indicators and indices are common tools in this process, but their construction embodies many uncertainties, not least of which is their scale specificity. This paper describes the development of two empirical adaptive capacity indices for use at different scales of analysis: a national index for cross-country comparison in Africa and a household index for cross-household comparison in a village in Limpopo province, South Africa. Explaining the decisions made at each stage of construction illuminates the degree of uncertainty involved when assessing adaptive capacity, and how this uncertainty is compounded when looking across different scales of analysis. It concludes that the central elements of adaptive capacity, based on institutional collective response and the availability of and access to resources, are common at different scales, although the structure of each index is scale-specific. Hence the findings of these apparently irreconcilable scales of analysis converge to demonstrate points of leverage for policy intervention to raise resilience and the capacity to adapt to the risks posed by climate change. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The importance of anchoring seasonal climate forecasts to user needs is examined in this paper. Although it is generally accepted that seasonal climate forecasts have potential value, many constraints preclude the optimal use of these forecasts, including the way forecasts are produced, interpreted and applied in a variety of decision-making processes. In South Africa, a variety of agricultural users exists, ranging from the small-scale farmer to larger commercial farming entities. Useful seasonal are those produced and disseminated with the end user in mind. A retroactive test period during the 1990s, evaluates the perceived impact of incorporating seasonal rainfall forecasts into decisions made by commercial crop farmers in the central parts of South Africa. Although a small sample of commercial farmers was interviewed, the results show some benefits to commercial agriculture if seasonal climate forecast information is continuously and effectively applied over the long-term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During strong El Niño events, below-average rainfall is expected in large parts of southern Africa. The 1992 El Niño season was associated with one of the worst drought episodes in large parts of South Africa. Using reanalysis data set from NCEP-NCAR, this study examined circulation types (CTs) in Africa south of the equator that are statistically related to the El Niño signal in the southwest Indian Ocean and the implication of this relationship during the 1992 drought episode in South Africa. A statistically significant correlation was found between the above-average Nino 3.4 index and a CT that features widespread cyclonic activity in the tropical southwest Indian Ocean, coupled with a weaker state of the south Indian Ocean high-pressure. During the analysis period, it was found that the El Niño signal enhanced the amplitude of the aforementioned CT. The impacts of the El Niño signal on CTs in southern Africa, which could have contributed to the 1992 severe drought episode in South Africa, were reflected in (i) robust decrease in the frequency of occurrence of the austral summer climatology pattern of atmospheric circulation that favors southeasterly moisture fluxes, advected by the South Indian Ocean high-pressure; (ii) modulation of easterly moisture fluxes, advected by the South Atlantic Ocean high-pressure, ridging south of South Africa; (iii) and enhancement of the amplitude of CTs that both enhances subsidence over South Africa, and associated with the dominance of westerlies across the Agulhas current. Under the ssp585 scenario, the analyzed climate models suggested that the impact of radiative heating on the CT significantly related to El Niño might result in an anomalous increase in surface pressure at the eastern parts of South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rainfall over Southern Africa has a well-defined annual cycle with the largest values occurring during summer (October-March). Substantial increases or decreases in summer rainfall can have devastating effects, particularly for agriculture which constitutes up to 25% of GDP in South Africa. This paper reviews recent research pertaining to climate variability over Southern Africa, particularly South Africa. Atmosphere-ocean interaction studies relevant to above- and below-normal rainfall events are highlighted. Linked to this is the predictability of such rainfall events using general circulation models (GCMs). The utilisation of GCMs initialised using predicted sea surface temperature changes in the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans around the African region holds promise for the timeous forecasting of these rainfall events over Southern Africa. The empirical agreements between precipitation anomalies and such meteorological variables such as OLR, etc. are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the character of hail is an important part of mitigating its impact on life and property. Climatologies of hail over South Africa are rare and based on observed data with a coarse spatial and temporal resolution. In this article, a hail climatology is created for southern Africa from reanalysis data. Pseudo‐soundings are produced from ERA‐Interim data and the HAILCAST model, which predicts the diameter of hail, is run using these soundings from 1979 to 2017 at six‐hourly intervals. The hail day frequency of the ERA‐Interim HAILCAST (EIH) climatology compares well to historical climatologies, although the horizontal resolution of ERA‐Interim makes it difficult to pinpoint the exact location of hail in areas of steep topography. Furthermore, the EIH climatology tends to over‐predict hail with diameters greater than 3 cm. Detail that was previously unavailable, such as the seasonal and temporal distribution of hail over the entire South Africa, is now available from the EIH climatology. The frequency of hail over the winter rainfall area and over countries bordering South Africa is estimated for the first time. It is recommended that the procedure is repeated with numerical weather prediction models with a higher resolution to determine whether the increased resolution will more accurately identify areas of hail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cycad aulacaspis scale, Aulacaspis yasumatsui Takagi (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Diaspididae), is native to Southeast Asia but an invasive pest of the gymnosperm order Cycadales in many parts of the world. Aulacaspis yasumatsui was recently reported on the cycad genus Encephalartos in South Africa and is currently categorized as a 'prohibited terrestrial invertebrate' in the invasive species legislation, National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (NEM:BA). Encephalartos is endemic to Africa, and 11 species are listed as critically endangered and four species as endangered. Seeing the limited distribution of A. yasumatsui in South Africa and only one unconfirmed record from the Ivory Coast, understanding the potential distribution range is essential for control and management. Here we model the potential distribution of A. yasumatsui under current and future climate scenarios in Africa, with a focus on South Africa. Future climatic scenarios were simulated using a bio-climatic software, CLIMEX. The model indicates that, under the current climatic scenario, all 17 African countries possessing Encephalartos are susceptible to A. yasumatsui establishment. However, under climatic change, the suitability decreases for large parts of Africa. In South Africa, 93% of the winter rainfall areas, and 90% of the temperate, summer rainfall areas are suitable for A. yasumatsui establishment. In this study, we highlight the urgent need for regulation, management, and research on A. yasumatsui in African countries with native cycads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beach and coastal tourism belong to the outdoor tourism sector and are strongly dependent on climate and weather. This is of particular concern for South Africa's coastline, which is characterised by climate heterogeneity, facing multiple threats under climate change. Of the few studies exploring climate perceptions of tourists, the majority have predominantly focused on the global north. This study provides insight into beach tourists' perceptions of weather and climate in South Africa, in relation to socio-economic and cross-cultural factors. This is done to evaluate discriminators for future research on the topic. A questionnaire was administered to 593 domestic and international participants. The survey was conducted at nine destinations of greatest touristic importance. The statistical analysis revealed significant correlations between tourists' nationality and their perception of climate importance. For example, domestic tourists are visibly more concerned about the climate at their holiday destination in South Africa than international tourists. No statistically significant correlations were returned for education and age, although for income, minor Cramer's V correlations were calculated. This reveals the importance of the country of origin of tourists in exploring the climate perception of beach and coastal touristswp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on climate and food inequalities while highlighting food sovereignty responses. It provides an analysis of climate inequalities ramifying through the world today. At the same time, food inequality is conceptually clarified as a counter approach to food security. It is argued that food inequality is consistent with the case for food sovereignty. Moreover, the combination of climate and food inequalities also highlight the complexity of climate crises and the challenges they pose for food regimes. The article further highlights the emergence of the food sovereignty response and systemic alternative. Taking this further is a case study of the transformative politics of the South African Food Sovereignty Campaign and its constitutive approach to various forms of power from below. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying and quantifying drought in retrospective is a necessity for better understanding drought conditions and the propagation of drought through the hydrological cycle and eventually for developing forecast systems. Hydrological droughts refer to water deficits in surface and subsurface storage, and since these are difficult to monitor at larger scales, several studies have suggested exploiting total water storage data from the GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellite gravity mission to analyze them. This has led to the development of GRACE-based drought indicators. However, it is unclear how the ubiquitous presence of climate-related or anthropogenic water storage trends found within GRACE analyses masks drought signals. Thus, this study aims to better understand how drought signals propagate through GRACE drought indicators in the presence of linear trends, constant accelerations, and GRACE-specific spatial noise. Synthetic data are constructed and existing indicators are modified to possibly improve drought detection. Our results indicate that while the choice of the indicator should be application-dependent, large differences in robustness can be observed. We found a modified, temporally accumulated version of the indicator particularly robust under realistic simulations. We show that linear trends and constant accelerations seen in GRACE data tend to mask drought signals in indicators and that different spatial averaging methods required to suppress the spatially correlated GRACE noise affect the outcome. Finally, we identify and analyze two droughts in South Africa using real GRACE data and the modified indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism Climatic Indices (TCIs) are widely used in the global North to quantify the climatic suitability of a destination for tourism. Only one such study has been conducted in southern Africa to date. It is in a chronic shortage of research on tourism and climate change in the southern hemisphere. This study presents the application of the TCI in Lesotho, calculated for the eastern Lesotho Highlands. The region has an emerging tourism sector, which primarily comprises outdoor activities. These include hiking, horse-riding, music festivals, mountain biking, cultural visits, sightseeing, and at the Afriski lodge, skiing and snowboarding. These activities are reliant on climatic conditions that are conducive to the activity taking place, prolonged periods outdoors, and tourist satisfaction of the activity. Climate is a major determinant of both the length of season for these activities and the timing of peak tourist arrivals. Rising temperatures and changes in relative humidity and precipitation pose real threats to hiking, sightseeing and snow tourism at Afriski. The reliance of tourism in the region on specific climatic conditions for successful tourism prompted the use of the TCI. TCI results classify the eastern Lesotho Highlands as having 'good' climatic conditions with an overall TCI score of 64 for the period 2012–2017. Monthly TCI scores for the eastern Lesotho reveal a bimodal-shoulder, meaning the peak climatic conditions are in the regional summer months (December to February). This conflicts with the peak tourist seasons of summer and winter, which align with South African school holidays, and the timing of the most profitable tourism activity (skiing) which occurs during the winter months of June, July and August. Lesotho is landlocked by South Africa. TCI analysis for South Africa reveals more suitable climatic conditions for tourism than Lesotho, with significantly higher scores of 80–89. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across South Africa, many activities warrant consistent and predictable rainfall patterns which can be achieved from classification of rainfall seasonality into homogeneous zones. Since the first seasonality map for South Africa which was published in 1938, attempts to classify and map rainfall seasonality for the region has proliferates, with many different approaches adopted. Currently, 59 published maps depicting rainfall seasonality across South Africa are known. Although the dichotomy between the summer and winter rainfall zones is well-reported, classification and mapping of the seasonal rainfall zones remains somewhat arbitrary and relatively inconsistent amongst authors. Amongst these maps, there is a broad consensus that three distinct regions with a relatively homogenous seasonal distribution of rainfall exist, known as: summer, winter and year-round rainfall zones. Much of the country has been classified with at least 75% spatial agreement, while classification for the remainder of the country remains rather disputed. Available classification approaches were interrogated, and it was demonstrated that each approach is associated with limitations affecting the accuracy of these maps. We suggest a rigorously assessed approach, or a set of approaches should be used to classify rainfall zones which may be important in further understanding rainfall seasonality across South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The atmospheric boundary layer (BL) is the atmospheric layer coupled to the Earth's surface at relatively short timescales. A key quantity is the BL depth, which is important in many applied areas of weather and climate such as air-quality forecasting. Studying BLs in climates and biomes across the globe is important, particularly in the under-sampled southern hemisphere. The present study is based on a grazed grassland-savannah area in northwestern South Africa during October 2012–August 2014. Ceilometers are probably the cheapest method for measuring continuous aerosol profiles up to several kilometers above ground and are thus an ideal tool for long-term studies of BLs. A ceilometer-estimated BL depth is based on profiles of attenuated backscattering coefficients from atmospheric aerosols; the sharpest drop often occurs at BL top. Based on this, we developed a new method for layer detection that we call the signal-limited layer method. The new algorithm was applied to ceilometer profiles which thus classified BL into classic regime types: daytime convective mixing, and a double layer at night of surface-based stable with a residual layer above it. We employed wavelet fitting to increase successful BL estimation for noisy profiles. The layer-detection algorithm was supported by an eddy-flux station, rain gauges, and manual inspection. Diurnal cycles were often clear, with BL depth detected for 50% of the daytime typically being 1–3 km, and for 80% of the night-time typically being a few hundred meters. Variability was also analyzed with respect to seasons and years. Finally, BL depths were compared with ERA-Interim estimates of BL depth to show reassuring agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses two methods to diagnose the local Hadley circulation; first the zonally averaged mass stream function, and second the stream function vector method. The two methods have been applied to the ERA‐Interim reanalysis data for the period 1979–2015, to calculate both the climatology and trends of the Hadley cell. Both diagnostics advocate downwards mass flux being dominant over the subtropics, particularly over South Africa, yet the strength of Hadley is seasonal. Contrasts have been found between linear trends of the two diagnostics. Zonally symmetric diagnostics indicate strengthening of the Hadley cell, particularly in the subtropics of the Southern Hemisphere in winter and weakening in summer. The zonally asymmetric results indicate maximum strengthening of the Hadley over South Africa to be in spring and weakening in summer. Furthermore, maximum decrease in cloud cover and increase in sunshine duration over South Africa is in spring, implying more opportunities for solar energy generation. An integrated climatology and trend analysis of the Hadley cell, total cloud cover and sunshine has been established over the subtropics and South Africa using zonally symmetric and zonally symmetric diagnostics, respectively. Both diagnostics indicate weakening of the Hadley in DJF; however, according to the zonally symmetric and asymmetric diagnostics, maximum strengthening is in JJA and SON, respectively. This coincides with maximum decrease in cloud cover and maximum increase in sunshine duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adopting a state-of-the-art numerical model system, we investigate how the diurnal variations in precipitation and local breeze systems are characterized by lower-boundary conditions related to the Drakensberg highland and warm SST associated with the Agulhas Current. A control simulation can simulate the hydrometeorological climates in the region realistically, but the terrestrial rainfall is overestimated. During daytime, the precipitation is confined to the Drakensberg highland, and there is an onshore local breeze, while during midnight to morning, the rainfall is confined to the Agulhas Current, and the breeze is offshore. These variations are captured by the numerical simulation, although the timing of maximum rainfall is early over the land and delayed over the ocean. The sensitivity experiment in which the Drakensberg is absent shows a drastic modification in the diurnal variations over land and ocean. The terrestrial precipitation is largely decreased around the Drakensberg and is largest along the coast during daytime. The nocturnal marine precipitation along the Agulhas Current is also reduced. Although the daily residual breeze is still pronounced even without the Drakensberg, wind speed is weakened. We attribute this to the reduction of precipitation. In another sensitivity experiment with smoothened warm SST due to the Agulhas Current, the amplitudes of diurnal variations are not modified remarkably, but the coastal rainfall is diminished to some extent due to less evaporation along the Agulhas Current. This study concludes that the Drakensberg plays a crucial role for the diurnal cycle, and the impact of the Agulhas Current is limited on the diurnal cycle of the coastal precipitation in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on an emergence of green bonds as an integral component of climate finance in South Africa. It mentions various platforms in a concerted effort to combat climate change as the annual Conference of the Parties (COP), a regular meeting and also mentions the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

Severe thunderstorms pose a considerable risk to society and the economy of South Africa during the austral summer months (October-March). Yet, the frequency and distribution of such severe storms is poorly understood, which partly stems out of an inadequate observation network. Given the lack of observations, alternative methods have focused on the relationship between severe storms and their associated environments. One such approach is to use a combination of covariant discriminants, derived from gridded datasets, as a probabilistic proxy for the development of severe storms. These covariates describe some key ingredient for severe convective storm development, such as the presence of instability. Using a combination of convective available potential energy and deep-layer vertical shear from Climate Forecast System Reanalysis, this study establishes a climatology of potential severe convective environments across South Africa for the period 1979-2010. Results indicate that early austral summer months are most likely associated with conditions that are conducive to the development of severe storms over the interior of South Africa. The east coast of the country is a hotspot for potential severe convective environments throughout the summer months. This is likely due to the close proximity of the Agulhas Current, which produces high latent heat fluxes and acts as a key moisture source. No obvious relationship is established between the frequency of potential severe convective environments and the main large-scale modes of variability in the Southern Hemisphere, such as ENSO. This implies that several factors, possibly more localised, may modulate the spatial and temporal frequency of severe thunderstorms across the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents seasonal vertical structure from 1000 to 100 hPa of liquid water content (LWC) and ice water content (IWC) and investigates their variability with temperature in Africa from climatological perspective. Both LWC and IWC may increase or decrease with temperature by season and by region. We compared vertical distribution of LWC and IWC from ERA-Interim, JRA-55 and MERRA reanalysis to the distribution of cloud types from ISCCP and we found that cloud type with highest liquid content is Stratocumulus (Sc) in JJA for both East of Africa (13.3 %) and West of Africa (19.3 %) while Cumulus (Cu) in MAM for both South of Africa (8.6 %) and North of Africa (13.5 %). Cirrus (Ci) is the most frequent cloud with ice with 24.6 % presence in East Africa, 20.4 % in West Africa, 7.2 % in North Africa during MAM and 21.3 % in South Africa during SON. The LWC exists below 400 hPa for both ERA-I and JRA-55, whereas below 200 hPa based on MERRA in all regions of Africa. The IWC exists above 600 hPa for both East and West Africa, above 800 hPa in South Africa and above 900 hPa in North Africa for both ERA-I and JRA-55, whereas above 500 hPa in both East and West of Africa, above 800 hPa in South of Africa and above 850 hPa in North of Africa based on MERRA. The ERA-I, JRA-55 and MERRA are in agreement in low and mid troposphere while in upper troposphere only ERA-I and JRA-55 are in agreement. The MERRA disagrees with ERA-I and JRA-55 in the upper troposphere. The difference of LWC and IWC seasonal vertical distribution in Africa is due to different climatic features between tropic regions and subtropic regions. All three reanalyses show the LWC and IWC between −22.7 and 1.6 °C over Africa. The coexistence temperature between LWC and IWC may be useful to estimate the temperature at which there are the supercooled liquid water and mixed clouds. The ERA-I and JRA-55 may be good proxies in precipitation and cloud monitoring in regions with a lack of in situ observations in Africa. Our results reveal that ISCCP and the two reanalyses (ERA-I and JRA-55) are more reliable for characterizing cloud types and the vertical profile of LWC and IWC climatology, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A biography of Professor Johann R. E. Lutjeharms is presented. He was born and educated in Bloemfontein, South Africa. He was a member of the Oceanography Department at the University of Cape Town (UCT) for 20 years. He became the chairman of Ocean Climatology at UCT in 1990 and retired in December 2009. His research have focused on understanding and quantifying the large-scale circulation patterns of the ocean around South Africa.

The Middle Stone Age (MSA) of southern Africa, and in particular its Still Bay and Howiesons Poort lithic traditions, represents a period of dramatic subsistence, cultural, and technological innovation by our species, Homo sapiens. Climate change has frequently been postulated as a primary driver of the appearance of these innovative behaviours, with researchers invoking either climate instability as a reason for the development of buffering mechanisms, or environmentally stable refugia as providing a stable setting for experimentation. Testing these alternative models has proved intractable, however, as existing regional palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental records remain spatially, stratigraphically, and chronologically disconnected from the archaeological record. Here we report high-resolution records of environmental shifts based on stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in ostrich eggshell (OES) fragments, faunal remains, and shellfish assemblages excavated from two key MSA archaeological sequences, Blombos Cave and Klipdrift Shelter. We compare these records with archaeological material remains in the same strata. The results from both sites, spanning the periods 98–73 ka and 72–59 ka, respectively, show significant changes in vegetation, aridity, rainfall seasonality, and sea temperature in the vicinity of the sites during periods of human occupation. While these changes clearly influenced human subsistence strategies, we find that the remarkable cultural and technological innovations seen in the sites cannot be linked directly to climate shifts. Our results demonstrate the need for scale-appropriate, on-site testing of behavioural-environmental links, rather than broader, regional comparisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban planning can play a potentially meaningful role in managing the risks of climate change. It is, however, unclear to what extent planning practice can be transformed in order to address these risks effectively in the global south. Using Johannesburg in South Africa as an illustrative case and the interrelated challenges of flood risks and informal growth as an example, it is demonstrated how the identification of a particular planning practice with historically informed values of justice substantially constrains the realization of adaptive planning options. Correspondingly, its implications for managing flood risks of climate change through planning under conditions of urban divide are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]