The African continent is the most exposed region to the ravages of global warming, despite the area being the lowest contributor to global carbon emissions. It is mainly because the country's infrastructures are too ill-equipped to withstand the current climate shocks. African countries are experiencing the devastating effects of the changes in temperature and frequent natural hazards.

From a weather pattern perspective, Climate change affects global temperatures and precipitation patterns, influencing the intensity and frequency of extreme environmental events like floods, droughts, heatwaves, forest fires, storms and hurricanes. With the global surface temperature increasing, it could mean more frequent droughts or, on the opposite spectrum, more intense storms based on the increasing amount of water vapour that is evaporated into the atmosphere, fuelling these powerful storms.

These devastating climate shocks' social and economic disruptions are wideranging and may multiply rapidly, resulting in intergenerational consequences. Those most affected by these extreme weather conditions are unfortunately the most vulnerable already, the poor, who are often forced to resort to a wide array of damaging coping strategies that undermine human capital formation and thus perpetuate the cycle of poverty and vulnerability. There are bound to be other severe impacts connected to climate change, such as one's health, for instance. The decreasing air and water quality will most certainly increase the spread of disease.

Struck by disaster, places like KwaZulu Natal (KZN) have been left in utter chaos, with vulnerable and traumatised communities left trying to pick up the remaining pieces of their former lives. The South African economy heavily depends on the revenue generated by the primary sector, specifically in the agricultural and mining industries, with mining being the more dominant industry because of its valuable mineral extracts. The ongoing changes in the South African climate are bound to add challenges to the worrying number of issues our country is already facing.

Increasing temperatures, rainfall variability and increasing coastal storms with the rising sea level will negatively impact South Africa's natural resources and infrastructure, thus affecting food security and health, threatening water and coastal resources, and impacting overall development.

According to the World Weather Attribution Service, the extreme rainfall that triggered the deadly flooding on the east coast of South Africa was made twice as likely and 4 to 8% more intense by climate change. In assessing the frequency and intensity of the recent flooding in KZN, these storms have become more frequent in recent years and deadlier each time.

Bhavna Jugwanth, Barloworld Equipment's Operations Manager in KZN, has witnessed the traumatic weather events occurring in KZN first-hand and reports that as the Barloworld response team does their best to assist with clean-up operations, they work with sombre hearts acknowledging that many of their colleagues were horribly affected by the floods. The following is a report, compiled reported 24 May 2022, which lists a few of the initiatives that were put into action after the April flooding’s:

1. Water was provided to all staff members (Equipment, Power, Avis, SMD & Logistics) due to the water shortages which were experienced in the province – facilitated by Prudence Gololo
2. A Barloworld Power employee's home, shared by his three children and wife, was damaged and posed a potential risk. The family was evacuated and were provided with temporary accommodation until their home was determined to be safe to return to - facilitated by Dan Ngkane, Executive Director, Energy & Transportation
3. 20 (twenty) Food Hampers were donated to the Barloworld Equipment team – these hampers were not distributed as there was no immediate need -the regional team has been doing a collection drive, and all items will be donated to the organisation Gift of the givers for distribution – the collection is scheduled to take place on, Thursday 26 May 2022.
4. eThekwini Municipality also reached out for assistance, requesting to loan specific equipment that would assist with the clean-up operation. The CAT Rental store provided them with five units of equipment (2 x 426's, 2 x 320's & 1 x 950GC) for a month to assist with this operation – facilitated by Hanspeter Tobler, Senior GM: Rental & Used, Southern Africa

There is no adaptation to the harsh reality of climate change. But instead, nations need to learn to collaborate and invest more resources into climate change resilience initiatives which unfortunately require the kind of resources not available in developing countries. Due to this, climate change will likely worsen poverty levels in marginalised communities.

The developed world has a role to play. As those with the required resources, most notably financial muscle, they must work with African nations to assist with climate change funding, as was evidenced in the recent UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), which committed to invest $8.5 billion to transition South Africa from fossil fuel energy to renewable energy.

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