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A drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain and melting snow or ice drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean. The drainage basin includes both the streams and rivers that convey the water as well as the land surfaces from which water drains into those channels, and is ...
Air pollution in Africa is coming to the forefront and must not be ignored. For example, in South Africa the mercury levels are severe due to coal combustion and gold mining. Mercury is absorbed from the air into the soil and water. [19] The soil allows the crops to absorb the mercury, which humans ingest.
The Cape Town water crisis in South Africa was a multi-year period in 2015–2020 of water shortage in the Western Cape region, most notably affecting the City of Cape Town. Dam water levels began decreasing in 2015 and the Cape Town water crisis peaked during mid-2017 to mid-2018 when water levels hovered between 14 and 29 percent of total dam ...
There are a range of environmental issues in Southern Africa, such as climate change, land, water, deforestation, land degradation, and pollution.The Southern Africa region itself, except for South Africa, [1] produces less carbon emissions but is a recipient of climate change impacts characterized by changes in precipitation, extreme weather events and hot temperatures.
Mwamanogu Village water source, Tanzania. In Meatu District, Shinyanga Region, water most often comes from open holes dug in the sand of dry riverbeds, and it is invariably contaminated. The main causes of water scarcity in Africa are physical and economic water scarcity, rapid population growth, and the effects of climate change on the water ...
The main rivers of South Africa are fairly small compared to the large rivers of the world: For example, the discharge of the Nile River alone is about six times higher than the available surface water resources from all South African rivers together. [13] [14]
Water pollution also reduces the ecosystem services such as drinking water provided by the water resource. Sources of water pollution are either point sources or non-point sources. [33] Point sources have one identifiable cause, such as a storm drain, a wastewater treatment plant, or an oil spill. Non-point sources are more diffuse.
Communal tap (standpost) for drinking water in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa. May 2005. Groundwater plays a key role in sustaining water supplies and livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa especially due to its widespread availability, generally high quality, and intrinsic ability to buffer episodes of drought and increasing climate variability.