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SA launches first climate and health surveillance platform

The tool allows researchers and policymakers to track links between extreme weather, heatwaves, flooding and health outcomes

Powered up: Chisamba solar plant supplies 100MW to the national grid. Photo: Supplied by Zesco

Zambia rethinks its energy future

The government plans to add 1 000MW of solar power to the national grid by 2027, with projects spread across the country

South Africa’s presidency of the bloc placed the development needs of the continent, small island states and other vulnerable regions firmly at the centre of the G20 declaration. (GCIS)

Major commitments for energy access, disaster preparedness and critical minerals at G20 South Africa

South Africa’s presidency of the bloc placed the development needs of the continent, small island states and other vulnerable regions firmly at the centre of the G20 declaration

Europe’s unusually warm and humid summer in 2025 contributed to 718 human cases of West Nile virus and 49 deaths in Italy alone.

Climate change is spreading dengue, chikungunya and West Nile virus worldwide

A new COP30 report finds that rising temperatures, extreme weather, evolving pathogens and climate-driven migration are reshaping disease patterns

The World Restoration Flagships, spanning 18 countries, showcase large-scale efforts to revive forests, grasslands, farms and coastlines, restore biodiversity and secure sustainable livelihoods

UN names four new World Restoration Flagships to heal degraded ecosystems

The World Restoration Flagships, spanning 18 countries, showcase large-scale efforts to revive forests, grasslands, farms and coastlines, restore biodiversity and secure…

Africa’s floods and droughts are messing with our minds. Researchers are trying to figure out how

As climate change intensifies, experts say our health and healthcare systems are going to suffer. But mental health often takes a back seat

Dr Jeniffer Molwantwa, Chief  Executive Officer: Water Research  Commission

The Giyani Local Scale Climate Resilience Programme: Building Climate Resilience Through Water Innovation

In the water-scarce landscapes of Giyani, Limpopo Province, climate change poses a severe threat to rural livelihoods and agricultural productivity. Increasing droughts and…

The government has rolled out a five-year roadmap to safeguard South Africa’s 3 592km coastline while unlocking its potential for equitable prosperity, climate resilience and ecological health.

State unveils five-year plan to protect 3 592km of coastline

The focus of the new coastal plan is on climate resilience, ecosystem restoration and equitable prosperity

Uwen Garae surveys his destroyed house on March 16, 2015 in Port Vila, Vanuatu. Cyclone Pam hit the South Pacific islands with hurricane-force winds, huge ocean swells and flash flooding. (Photo by Dave Hunt-Pool/Getty Images)

Commonwealth urges immediate action to support vulnerable island nations

A cyclone, or a hurricane, can knock a small or at-risk country off its growth trajectory for years, if not decades

Inertia: Collins Nzovu, chairperson of the African group of negotiators on climate change, criticised the limited progress on the crucial issue of adaptation at COP28. Photo: Dominika Zarzycka/Getty Images

Adaptation to climate change ‘sacrificed’ at COP28 – at the cost of the African continent

The Global Goal on Adaptation is a playbook for how the world will respond to the climate emergency

Pakistani people move to a safer place for a flooded water due to the flood situation in Tando Jam city of Sindh. (Photo by Jan Ali Laghari/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Pakistan floods show we must shift the global financing system in the age of climate change

More nuanced and constructive ways of measuring the vulnerabilities of nation states to climate crises are required

Dirty coal: Nomsa Zulu (left) wants clean energy for health reasons. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Just transition consultations haven’t filtered down to people on the ground

Residents living near coal mines in Mpumalanga say they feel left out of the just energy transition

The World Bank has said that it’s in South Afica’s best interest to move from coal to renewables. (Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Moving from coal towards renewables is in SA’s best interest, says World Bank

SA’s three transitions will cost R8.5-trillion per year between now and 2050

The climate crisis is a water crisis but governments around the world are still not putting water security front and centre, according to a water governance expert.

‘Governments are still not putting water security at the centre of the climate crisis’

The way water has been managed needs to change because policy decisions can no longer be based on historic rainfall patterns

Former Gauteng premier David Makhura, who runs the ANC political school, said there was a need for the party to both educate its existing members and ensure that those who joined in future were “in good standing in the community”.

Gauteng premier sees ‘civilisational threat’ of climate change on the horizon

David Makhura has set up an expert advisory committee to provide independent and expert advice about climate change mitigation and adaptation for the Gauteng City-Region

The devastation in the province holds minimal risks to food security, in the near term at least. (Photo by RAJESH JANTILAL/AFP via Getty Images)

Government presses urgency on climate change

Catastrophic KZN floods show how the impacts of climate change are being felt in South Africa

A man looks on as members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) K9 search and rescue unit searches for a missing 23 year old man in KwaNdengezi, west of Durban, on April 20, 2022. – South Africa’s government April 19, 2022 sought to reassure a worried public about efforts to help the east coast, where millions remained without water more than a week after deadly storms pounded the region. Some 10,000 troops were being deployed to assist, both with air support for search efforts and relief operations, but also with engineering, plumbing and electrical support to try to get basic services running. (GUILLEM SARTORIO/AFP via Getty Images)

Durban’s future: Storms, intense and more frequent flooding

Climate projections show that the eThekwini metro will receive more rain by 2050 that could fall in brief periods

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – OCTOBER 26: Animal Rebellion protestors unveil a banner at the Home Office building after they have scaled DEFRA on Tuesday, Oct 26, 2021, in central London, demanding government support for a plant-based food system ahead of COP26 which is to be held in six days. The protestors have said that they will take action until the government defunds meat and subsidises a plant-based transition. (Photo by Vudi Xhymshiti/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Health professionals call for new systems to reduce food insecurity

Health professionals have called on leaders at COP26 to prioritise changing food systems to reduce their effect on the climate, as well as to prevent deaths

At the coalface: In a statement, President Cyril Ramaphosa described the political declaration as a “watershed moment not only for our own just transition, but for the world as a whole”.

South Africa strikes historic R130bn deal with rich countries to move away from coal

Local climate activists say transparency and accountability are crucial as they await further details on the deal

Innovation: Prof Eugene Cloete says the multidisciplinary climate school serves all faculties. (Photo by David Harrison)

Stellenbosch University gets its own climate studies school

The faculty is the first of its kind in the battle against climate change