In a new paper about Cape Town’s water crisis, researcher Amy Fallon details lessons other world cities vulnerable to drought could learn from the metro. Fallon is a researcher at Finland’s Aalto University. A three-year drought precipitated Cape Town’s Day Zero scenario, but water crisis conditions are prevalent nationwide, even where drought is an unlikely threat. In her paper — A perfect storm: the hydropolitics of Cape Town’s water crisis — Fallon singles out preparedness as key to avoid the development of a crisis of the proportions witnessed in Cape Town. Her argument reflects consensus that climatic conditions make sporadic drought inevitable and that water demand is likely to exceed supply "if economic, population, and climate projections manifested". "What the Cape Town crisis shows is that preparing for drought requires a team effort – evidence-based science, pressure from the public, and political will. "Cape Town’s perfect storm was driven by a lack of political will, th...
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