I read today that the average humidity in Cape Town is 73% and Durban 77%. Silly me, I thought Cape Town wasn't humid, but somehow the excessive heat we are experiencing each summer and particularly this one is making life quite uncomfortable for those who don't enjoy humidity. An advert for turning air into water sparked enough interest for me to investigate what it was about, and it seems like a great idea in the current drought conditions, but nobody wants to publicise the price of the machine. This leads me to believe that it is beyond the reach of the common man. So I won't be getting one of those right now.
In the meantime, the dam levels are down to 44% with restrictions in place that will result in many suburban gardens losing their bloom, so to speak; for most homeowners, the garden is a source of joy and beauty, a place where they can engage their creative instincts, and certainly a place that can devour a large amount of cash to keep it looking its best. But without water, no amount of money can ensure the plants' survival. So only the wealthy will be able to have gardens as they can buy the water-from-air machines while the ordinary man will dig up the lawn and plant drought resistant vegetation to keep the sand down when the wind blows.
All of this is simply my version of a worst-case scenario if the weather patterns continue this way, but word has it in meteorological circles that we can expect floods next winter, and so none of this will be come to pass in the near future. But it's food for thought on future planning of our water usage. I predict a jump in sales of water tanks and drilling of boreholes. Alternatively, an awful lot of brick paving.
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