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Minister sounds climate alarm |
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 Cape Town (5 May 2005, NEWS24)- Climate change in South Africa could see provinces such as Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng becoming malaria zones in the near future, Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Thursday. Van Schalkwyk was speaking at a media briefing in Cape Town marking the release of a SA National Biodiversity Institute report on the phenomenon. He said climate change would also have a profound impact on the country's agricultural sector, biodiversity and water supply. In some parts of the country, especially the Western Cape, dramatic changes were "just around the corner".
"The face of the landscape will change," he said.
Van Schalkwyk called on the public not to panic, but warned climate change was "cause for grave concern".
"The research presented today... show climate change could lead to provinces like Mpumalanga, Limpopo, the North West, KZN and even Gauteng becoming malaria zones by 2050," he said.
The number of South Africans "at high risk" from malaria would quadruple by 2020, Van Schalkwyk added.
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