Drought in Western South Africa

Drought in Western South Africa The current drought in South Africa’s Western Cape province is withering and stunting vegetation across this crop-producing region. These true- and false-color images show southwestern Africa on July 21, 2003, and July 21, 2002. Vegetation health (greenness) is dramatically reduced in 2003, particularly in the region between Cape Columbine (left center edge) and southward to the Cape of Good Hope (narrow strip of land on the outside of the horseshoe-shaped False Bay).
Most of South Africa’s wheat is produced in the Western Cape, with the areas in the southwest corner of the province (known as Swartland and Rûens) being among the most important wheat-producing regions in South Africa. Erratic rainfall in the Western Cape often produces wide variations in wheat yields and quality, with the country having a surplus of wheat only during very good rainfall years and shortages during the majority of years. Low rainfall and soil moisture conditions in the Western Cape will reduce this year’s wheat and barley crops.
For more information on crop health worldwide, visit the Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division (PECAD) of the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. The Western Cape is experiencing the worst drought in more than a century South Africa‘s Western Cape province has declared a drought disaster as it faces its worst water shortage in 113 years. Provincial leader Helen Zille said water will be harvested by drilling boreholes to serve key points like hospitals in Cape Town.

Credit: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC