There is mounting evidence that efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of human activity on climate and biodiversity have so far been unsuccessful. Explanations for this failure point to a number of factors discussed in this article. While acknowledging cognitive dissonance as a significant contributing …

Climate change has great ecological consequences for animals. Furthermore, these changes can differ among different geographical areas. In birds it has been found that they can cause mismatches with their food supply as they do not respond to climate change at the same pace. By understanding more about …

Climate change has caused dilapidation of the environment, droughts and floods leading to reduced yields, productivity and ultimately food insecurity for human consumption. Unfortunately, it is our contact with the environment that has led to all this, but most people are not aware. The three gases contributing …

The changing climate has an effect on the quality of life in our cities: heavier rainfall (resulting in floodings), longer periods of drought, reduced air and water quality and increasing temperatures in cities (heat stress). Awareness about these changes among various stakeholders is of great importance. …

Due to lack of proper stormwater drainage in the Waymouth Hills, stormwater runoff have often caused undermining of the road infrastructure and disrupting traffic flow in the study area. Sediments are often deposited to the low-lying terrain from the runoff and this reduces the storm drains capacity …

Urban water bodies like ponds or canals are commonly assumed to provide effective cooling in hot periods. Some of the evidence that feeds this assertion is based on remote sensing observations at relatively large scales. Such observations generally reveal reduced surface temperatures of water bodies …

Climate change leads to an increased risk of extreme weather events for society. To reduce the effects of extreme weather events climate change adaptation is required (Harley & van Minnen, 2009). Climate adaptation are actions taken by society to adapt to the changing climate and reduce the negative …

The phenomena of urbanization and climate change interact with the growing number of older people living in cities. One of the effects of climate change is an increased riverine flooding hazard, and when floods occur this has a severe impact on human lives and comes with vast economic losses. Flood …

Panarchy is the paradigm of transition and change. Panarchy is the paradigm where small actions can have major effects for better or worse. It is to expect the unexpected. Panarchy holds the promise of positively changing the Anthropocene. By being prepared we can anticipate upon unexpected emerging …

Urban planning will benefit from tools that can assess the vulnerability to thermal stress in urban dense cities. Detailed quick-scan heat stress maps, as made in this study for Johannesburg, have proven valuable in the decision-making process on this topic. It raised awareness on the urgent need to …