SA’s ability to predict and issue early warnings for severe weather events is at risk because its network of weather stations is fast deteriorating due to a lack of funding.

This could have severe consequences for SA’s ability to predict disasters such as the flooding that affected parts of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) in April. It could also make it difficult for insurance companies to verify certain kinds of weather-related claims, and some specialist agricultural insurers have appointed their own meteorologists...