Latest news with #CapeAgulhas
News24
5 days ago
- Climate
- News24
Friday's weather: Damaging waves, strong coastal winds, and scattered showers across SA
Damaging waves leading to difficulty in navigation at sea are expected in parts of the Western Cape until Sunday, according to the South African Weather Service (SAWS). Morning fog is expected along the coast and adjacent interior of the Northern Cape, light rain over the western parts of the Western Cape during the morning and strong coastal winds east of Cape Agulhas. Fresh to strong winds are expected along the coast in the Eastern Cape. Impact-based warning Yellow Level 2 warning: Damaging waves leading to difficulty in navigation at sea are expected between Saldanha Bay and Cape Agulhas to Plettenberg Bay until Sunday. Weather update for today and tomorrow, 29-30 May 2025: Fine and cool to warm across the country but partly cloudy with light rain and showers in the south-west.⚠️Damaging winds and waves. #saws #saweather — SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) May 29, 2025 In the SAWS' colour-coded weather warning system, yellow indicates a moderate risk of impact that requires caution and awareness. SAWS uses the numbers to indicate the likelihood of weather-based impacts occurring. Level 2 is high. The weather in your province Gauteng: Fine and cool conditions are expected, warming up slightly in the extreme north. Pretoria: 8°C — 24°C Johannesburg: 9°C — 22°C Vereeniging: 6°C — 21°C Mpumalanga: Fine and cool to warm throughout the province; however, the Lowveld area will experience hot temperatures. Mbombela: 11°C — 28°C Ermelo: 6°C — 24°C Emalahleni: 8°C — 23°C Standerton: 2°C — 24°C Skukuza: 7°C — 33°C Limpopo: A day of fine weather, cool to warm across most areas, but hot in the Limpopo Valley. Polokwane: 8°C — 24°C Phalaborwa: 12°C — 31°C Tzaneen: 9°C — 28°C Musina: 12°C — 32°C Lephalale: 10°C — 27°C Mokopane: 8°C — 26°C North West: Fine and cool conditions prevail. Klerksdorp: 6°C — 22°C Potchefstroom: 4°C — 22°C Mahikeng: 7°C — 24°C Rustenburg: 7°C — 24°C Vryburg: 7°C — 23°C Free State: Weather will remain fine and cool. Bloemfontein: 3°C — 20°C Welkom: 5°C — 21°C Bethlehem: 1°C — 20°C Northern Cape: Morning fog is expected along the coast and nearby interior, with conditions becoming partly cloudy and cold to cool for the rest of the province. Eastern areas will remain fine. Coastal winds will shift from light easterly to fresh and strong southerly later in the day. Upington: 5°C — 21°C Kimberley: 8°C — 22°C De Aar: 7°C — 19°C Alexander Bay: 12°C — 22°C Springbok: 7°C — 20°C Calvinia: 5°C — 16°C Sutherland: 1°C — 13°C Western Cape: Start the day with partly cloudy and cool to cold conditions, accompanied by light rain in western areas. The south coast might clear up by evening. Coastal winds will be strong east of Cape Agulhas, transitioning to fresh south-westerly winds along the south coast from the afternoon. Cape Town: 13°C — 17°C Vredendal: 11°C — 21°C Riversdale: 13°C — 21°C George: 13°C — 19°C Worcester: 13°C — 18°C Beaufort West: 6°C — 19°C Oudtshoorn: 9°C — 20°C Western half of the Eastern Cape: Morning clouds with isolated showers along western coastal areas, followed by fine and cool to cold weather. Coastal winds will be fresh to strong south-westerly, easing by evening. Eastern half of the Eastern Cape: Fine and cool to cold weather dominates. Coastal winds will mirror the pattern in the western half. Gqeberha: 12°C — 19°C Makhanda: 11°C — 19°C Cradock: 8°C — 18°C Graaff-Reinet: 8°C — 19°C East London: 13°C — 21°C Port St Johns: 14°C — 21°C Mthatha: 9°C — 20°C Komani: 7°C — 17°C Qonce: 12°C — 20°C KwaZulu-Natal: Expect fine and cool conditions, warming slightly in the east. Some areas may become partly cloudy during the afternoon. Coastal winds will vary, starting with northerly to north-easterly in the north and strong southerly to south-westerly winds spreading northwards from the late morning. These winds will be moderate in the evening. Durban: 15°C — 23°C Richard's Bay: 15°C — 25°C Pietermaritzburg: 10°C — 21°C Ladysmith: 5°C — 22°C
News24
6 days ago
- Climate
- News24
Thursday's weather: Sunny skies, but strong winds, showers in parts of Western Cape
Damaging wind is expected between Saldanha Bay and Cape Agulhas in the Western Cape, according to the South African Weather Service (SAWS). Isolated showers and rain are expected in the south-western parts of the Western Cape. Impact-based warnings Yellow Level 2 warning: Damaging wind leading to difficulty in navigation at sea is expected between Saldanha Bay and Cape Agulhas. Yellow Level 2 warning: Damaging waves leading to difficulty in navigation at sea are expected between Saldanha Bay and Cape Agulhas, spreading to Plettenberg Bay from Friday until Sunday. WHAT IS AN IMPACT-BASED WEATHER WARNING? Thread🧵 — SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) April 15, 2025 In the SAWS' colour-coded weather warning system, yellow indicates a moderate risk of impact that requires caution and awareness, while orange indicates that a higher-risk impact is expected, requiring increased attention and preparation. It uses the numbers to indicate the likelihood of weather-based impacts occurring. Level 2 is high. The weather in your province Gauteng: A fine and cool day is expected across the province. Pretoria: 6°C — 22°C Johannesburg: 6°C — 20°C Vereeniging: 4°C — 22°C Mpumalanga: Fine and cool to warm weather will dominate. Mbombela: 10°C — 25°C Ermelo: 6°C — 19°C Emalahleni: 7°C — 20°C Standerton: 3°C — 20°C Skukuza: 7°C — 30°C Limpopo: Fine and cool to warm conditions are expected throughout the province. Polokwane: 9°C — 23°C Phalaborwa: 13°C — 30°C Tzaneen: 8°C — 27°C Musina: 12°C — 29°C Lephalale: 8°C — 23°C Mokopane: 8°C — 24°C North West: A fine and cool day with some windy conditions in the extreme west. Watch for a brisk breeze in open areas, but otherwise comfortable weather. Klerksdorp: 5°C — 23°C Potchefstroom: 5°C — 22°C Mahikeng: 7°C — 22°C Rustenburg: 6°C — 22°C Vryburg: 5°C — 23°C Free State: A fine and cool day with windy patches in the western parts of the province. Early morning may be chilly. Bloemfontein: 2°C — 22°C Welkom: 4°C — 22°C Bethlehem: 2°C — 19°C Northern Cape: Expect variable weather conditions - cloudy or partly cloudy in the west, where it could feel colder, otherwise fine and cool to warm. Windy spells are likely over the central and eastern parts. Upington: 10°C — 25°C Kimberley: 8°C — 24°C De Aar: 11°C — 22°C Alexander Bay: 13°C — 24°C Springbok: 10°C — 18°C Calvinia: 8°C — 16°C Sutherland: 7°C — 11°C Western Cape: Cloudy in the south-west with isolated showers and rain, particularly along the west-facing slopes. Conditions will be partly cloudy and cool elsewhere, with strong winds along the coast. Cape Town: 14°C — 19°C Vredendal: 11°C — 19°C Riversdale: 11°C — 22°C George: 11°C — 22°C Worcester: 12°C — 18°C Beaufort West: 8°C — 20°C Oudtshoorn: 10°C — 22°C Eastern Cape: In the western half, expect fine and cool conditions becoming cloudy with evening fog in the south-east. In the eastern half, similar fine and cool to warm weather will dominate, with evening fog south of the escarpment. Gqeberha: 13°C — 21°C Makhanda: 11°C — 21°C Cradock: 9°C — 25°C Graaff-Reinet: 11°C — 24°C East London: 15°C — 23°C Port St Johns: 12°C — 24°C Mthatha: 8°C — 25°C Komani: 8°C — 23°C Qonce: 12°C — 22°C KwaZulu-Natal: Fine weather throughout the province - cool inland but warmer along the east coast. *This weather report was written with the support of Toqan AI.
News24
08-05-2025
- Business
- News24
‘One in 7 000th' chance of oil spill off Cape coast, TotalEnergies tells court
Environmental groups are challenging an environmental authorisation granted to TotalEnergies for exploratory drilling off the southwest coast between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas. TotalEnergies last year announced it would no longer be involved in exploration and development activities in the area, but it still holds a 40% stake in the block. Government's counsel says that environmental groups are deliberately scaring away international investors through 'calculated delays'. For climate change news and analysis, go to News24 Climate Future homepage. TotalEnergies has told a high court there is a 'one in 7 000th' chance of an oil spill occurring off the Cape coast, despite concerns raised by environmental groups. In a three-day hearing at the Western Cape High Court this week, the oil and gas giant defended the environmental authorisation granted to it by government in 2023 for oil and gas exploration in the area known as Block 5/6/7. The block, which covers an area of 10 000 square kilometres, lies between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas. Environmental groups The Green Connection and Natural Justice lodged a legal challenge in March 2024, seeking a judicial review of the environmental authorisation. This follows an unsuccessful appeals process with the environment minister. The incumbent, Barbara Creecy, had dismissed 18 appeals, essentially upholding the environmental authorisation that was granted by the minister of mineral resources and energy in 2023. But in July 2024, TotalEnergies unexpectedly announced its withdrawal from Block 5/6/7 – meaning it would not be involved in exploration or development in the area. TotalEnergies has since attempted to bring Shell (a joint exploration rights holder) into the court proceedings in a joinder application, which The Green Connection and Natural Justice opposed. According to court documents filed by TotalEnergies, it intends to transfer its 40% interest in Block 5/6/7 to the remaining rights holders — PetroSA and Shell. Shell will also take over operations — such as the proposed exploratory drilling and the related obligations of the environmental authorisation. The environmental authorisation, which is the subject of the legal challenge, is still held by TotalEnergies. READ | Alone in the water? Africa Energy the last man standing as TotalEnergies quits offshore gas finds The applicants said there were significant procedural flaws in various aspects of the environmental authorisation being granted. This includes an inadequate public participation process, improper handling of the appeal process, and the minister's failure to consider coastal management laws and climate implications. The applicants also presented to Judge Nobahle Mangcu-Lockwood that authorities failed to properly evaluate exploration risks, including potential oil spills threatening coastal fishing communities' livelihoods. Central to the case is whether exploration should be assessed separately from production. i.e., the drilling of oil or gas. TotalEnergies put forward that these are distinct activities requiring separate authorisation. According to the applicants, TotalEnergies failed to properly assess the impacts of a potential oil spill on the fishing communities along the stretch of coast closest to the drilling block. They argued that not only did TotalEnergies fail to submit a sufficient socioeconomic impact assessment report, but it also failed to assess the climate change implications of future oil and gas extraction should the exploration successfully detect these resources. They also contended that TotalEnergies did not submit sufficient contingency plans for a blowout (an uncontrolled release of oil or gas from a well) and oil spill, for the minister to consider. The applicants' counsel argued that this was in direct contravention of South Africa's international climate commitments according to the Paris Agreement. TotalEnergies, in turn, defended its socioeconomic impact assessment report and said it not only accounted for the impact of an oil spill but relied on modelling of worst-case scenarios to inform mitigation measures. TotalEnergies' counsel said that there was a 'one in 7 000 chance' of an oil spill or blowout occurring. This tied in with its reply against several of the review grounds presented by the Green Connection and Natural Justice. Legal counsel for TotalEnergies repeatedly emphasised that the applicants' case was undermined by the fact that National Environmental Management Act does not obligate it or any other party to assess potential climate change impacts from the resulting production during the exploratory phase, adding that extraction and production activities require separate authorisation that would be applied for later. TotalEnergies stated that it was a technical impossibility to finalise operation-specific oil spill and blowout contingency plans at the exploratory phase and that it would only be able to submit those plans for approval by the South African Maritime Safety Authority closer to drilling execution. It also said that general oil spill and blowout response measures broadly applied to its activities were provided in its reports presented to government. Calculated to delay Advocate Gerrit Grobler, representing the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment, argued that the Green Connection and Natural Justice have 'been delaying this project from the beginning' and that all legal action it had taken against TotalEnergies has been 'calculated to delay'. According to Grobler, international investment is being withdrawn from South Africa as a consequence, 'because we can't get moving'. 'The tactics used in the South African legal system with these kinds of things are not international investor-friendly. [These are investors] working with billions of [rands] and once there is a delay, you can imagine what the consequences are with costs rising and interest being lost,' Grobler told the court. He added that he would not be surprised if TotalEnergies and the Department of Forestry Fisheries and Environment found itself in front of the Constitutional Court against the applicants, should their application for review not be granted. 'It is high time that if these kinds of applications [that delay investments], that are really of no substance, as this one is […], that our courts express their displeasure at this kind of action,' Grobler said. Judgment was reserved.
Mail & Guardian
08-05-2025
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
Court case challenges SA's approval of offshore drilling by TotalEnergies
A judicial review heard in the Western Cape high court this week has questioned the environmental authorisation process for TotalEnergies' offshore oil and gas exploration rights between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas. (Chesnot/Getty Images) A judicial review heard in the Western Cape high court this week has questioned the environmental authorisation process for The applicants, the This includes Their case is focused on the state's decision to grant environmental authorisation to TotalEnergies EP South Africa Block 567 (Pty) Ltd (Teepsa), which permits it to conduct exploratory drilling for fossil fuels off the country's south west coast. The applicants participated in the process that led to the granting of the environmental authorisation. The respondents are the minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment and the minister of mineral resources and energy, the director-general of the department of mineral resources and energy as well as Teepsa. On 17 April 2023, the director-general of the former department of mineral resources and energy granted an environmental authorisation to Teepsa to conduct exploration well drilling in Block 5/6/7. On 24 September 2023, the environment minister dismissed the joint appeal by the applicants against the initial decision. According to the applicants' heads of argument, the bulk of their review grounds are premised on the final environmental impact assessment report failing to meet the standards imposed by the National Environment Management Act (Nema) and the National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Act (ICMA). Specifically, they contend that the decisions to grant the environmental authorisation were unlawful and irrational in six respects. Among these are that the final environmental impact assessment report failed to properly assess — and the state respondents failed to consider — the socio-economic effects of the proposed project, 'which a well blowout and consequent oil spill will have on the fishing industry and small-scale fishers'. The applicants argued that the state respondents failed to consider the factors prescribed by the ICMA and failed to properly assess and consider the need and desirability of the proposed project in relation to the climate change impacts, 'which will be caused by burning any gas discovered by the proposed project'. The state respondents failed to assess and consider the transboundary effects of the proposed project both on Namibia and on international waters. Neither the final environmental impact assessment report, nor the environmental management programme report, included Total's oil spill contingency plan or blow out contingency plan, they argued. 'Accordingly, the final environmental impact assessment report's failure to assess the impacts of an oil spill on fisheries, the factors prescribed by the ICMA, the relevance of climate change impact to the need and desirability of the proposed project, and the transboundary impacts of an oil spill, render the decisions to grant the environmental authorisation unlawful, irrational and unreasonable.' Although TotalEnergies has since announced its withdrawal from exploration activities in Block 5/6/7, it has now filed a joinder application to include Shell as a party in the legal proceedings. 'The application is made on the basis that Shell holds a commercial interest in the right, and that it will become the exploration operator in the future. However, the Green Connection and Natural Justice oppose this move, arguing the exploration right has lapsed and that Shell has no legal standing in the case.' Teepsa said in its heads of argument that the applicants have 'conflated the considerations that are only relevant to production operations with the considerations relevant to exploration operations'. 'The information the applicants say should have been placed before the decision-makers was either in fact placed before the decision-makers and considered, or, on a proper scientific approach, is simply not capable of reliable ascertainment at the stage when authorisation is sought for exploration operations.' The applicants would prefer that no new oil and gas exploration be authorised, it maintained. 'They wish to ensure that the various stakeholders — including the public, the government and those whose skill lies in discovering new sources of energy — remain ignorant of whether South Africa is possessed of hitherto unknown sources of energy. 'That is the essence of their objective. But there is no warrant for this court to assist the applicants in achieving that objective, given its sterilising effect. Ignorance about South Africa's energy options cannot be in the interests of the country or its people.' The environment minister noted in his heads of argument that, since the 1940s, 358 offshore wells have been drilled in the waters of South Africa for the purposes of oil and gas exploration and production, with no recorded economic losses incurred by fishers as a result of blowouts or oil spill. The government has also established several measures and legal frameworks to mitigate the risks associated with blowouts and oil spills. The minister said Nema mandates Teepsa to take reasonable measures to contain oil spills, clean up, remedy effects and assess the effects on the environment and public health. 'Under Nema, Teepsa is obligated to implement measures aimed at preventing, controlling, and minimising blowouts and oil spills. Additionally, Teepsa is responsible for bearing the costs associated with the remediation of blowouts and oil spills that occur during the exploration and production phases of operations. 'The applicants' case is premised on the assumption that there exists no distinction between the environmental impact assessment for the oil and gas exploration phase and production phase and that the final impact assessment report supporting the environmental authorisation also encompasses the oil and gas production phase.' This assumption is 'erroneous' in both legal and factual contexts, the minister argued. 'The environmental impact assessment for listed activities specifically for the proposed well drillings, [is] restricted solely to oil and gas exploration.' The scope of the environmental impact assessment for oil and gas exploration encompasses activities such as seismic surveys, exploratory drilling and preliminary geological studies. 'The data available and presented during the exploration phase is comparatively limited due to the uncertainty regarding seafloor conditions. The environmental impacts are minimal due to minor seafloor disturbance and low emissions. If oil and gas reserves are discovered within the block, Teepsa will be obligated to apply for a production right to the minister. 'If Pasa [Petroleum Agency of South Africa] accepts the application, Teepsa is required to apply for the environmental authorisation for listed activities in terms of section 24 of Nema or oil and gas production; consult the interested and affected parties, including the fishing sector and other marine users, and compile another detailed environmental impact assessment report with scientific studies dealing with, inter alia, blowouts and oil spills during the oil and gas production stage.' The minister stressed that until the oil and gas reserves are discovered in the block, there are no grounds in law or fact to assume that the environmental impact assessment encompasses both the exploration and production phase.
