3 – Climate Story Johannesburg sits on a relatively flat region called the ‘Highveld’41 on the Central plateau at an altitude of 1753m above mean sea level (Knight, 2018). It is surrounded by a protective line of the Great escarpment formed by geological upliftment of the continental crust. The city experiences a strong seasonal climate of wet-austral summers; from October to February and dry-short winters; June-August (Knight, 2018). The Cold Benguela current in the Atlantic Ocean regulates the temperature of Johannesburg below 30’ Celsius and in winters drops below freezing point causing frost (Daniel K. Irurah, 2010). The region receives an average of 235 sunshine hours a month and annual precipitation of 700-720 mm mostly in the summer months caused by the moisture-laden clouds coming from the Indian Ocean (Knight, 2018). The anti-cyclonic disturbances created by the Warm Agulhas current direct the wind towards the inland plateau, but the air masses are forced to condense passing over the Great escarpment, especially over the highlands of Lesotho (Knight, 2018). The regional topography of Johannesburg is significant because it is located on the continental drainage confluence of the Orange and Limpopo river basins fed by the Klip and Jukskei rivers that eventually flow into the Atlantic and Indian Oceans respectively (Knight, 2018). The subtropical highland climate characterized by a semi-arid environment is prone to droughts and floods (Daniel K. Irurah, 2010). The anthropogenic problems are exacerbated by the global increase in average temperatures, precipitation changes, and drought occurrences.
4 The word ‘veld’ in Afrikaans means field denotes the high-altitude grasslands elevated 1500m above mean sea-level.
Fig. 3.1 The city in nestled within Highveld, an inland portion of the central plateau
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Adaptation And Mitigation Strategies For Climate Crisis In Cities
