Project showcase: Launching field campaign in Thohoyandou and Cape Town, South Africa
SAF-ADAPT PhD student, Tshilidzi Manyanya, is investigating the impacts of spatio-temporal changes in vegetation and urban sprawl on catchment water balance and irrigation dynamics. As part of the project Tshilidzi aims to assess urban heat islands in two South African cities that are polar opposites of each other. Cape Town, a marine urban region, and Thohoyandou which is an inland urban region. Cape Town has all 10 built Classes of Local Climate Zones, while Thohoyandou has only 4. These differences make for an interesting assessment in terms of the impact of each local climate zone on the intensity of the UHI.
Recently Tshilidzi has launch a field campaign using meteorological stations in both cities to investigate the potential differences in heat islands between the cities. A dedicated website have been developed to further explain the aim of the project and calls for public participation to help identify potential areas where automatic weather stations can be placed.
If you would like to learn more about the project and/or sign up to host a station please follow the link below: