×

Our award-winning reporting has moved

Context provides news and analysis on three of the world’s most critical issues:

climate change, the impact of technology on society, and inclusive economies.

Drought-stricken Cape Town pushes back "Day Zero" to May 11

by Reuters
Monday, 5 February 2018 12:33 GMT

A family negotiates their way through caked mud around a dried up section of the Theewaterskloof dam near Cape Town, South Africa, January 20, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

Image Caption and Rights Information

"Capetonians must continue reducing consumption if we are to avoid Day Zero"

CAPE TOWN, Feb 5 (Reuters) - South Africa's drought-stricken city of Cape Town has pushed back its estimate for "Day Zero," when residents will have to start queuing for water, to May 11 from April 16, authorities said on Monday, citing a decline in agricultural water usage.

Parched Cape Town, flood-prone Miami help cities confront water risks

From Cape Town to Kabul: taps run dry in crisis cities

"Capetonians must continue reducing consumption if we are to avoid Day Zero," Cape Town's executive deputy major, Alderman Ian Neilson, was quoted as saying.

Neilson added: "All Capetonians must therefore continue to use no more than 50 litres per person per day to help stretch our dwindling supplies."

(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by James Macharia)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

-->