Multispectral remote sensing of the impacts of drought and climate variability on water resources in semi-arid regions of the Western Cape, South Africa

Abstract

The occurrence of droughts is a threat to global water resources and natural ecosystems, with the impact being more profound in semi-arid environments. The frequency of droughts is likely to increase because of climate change, and this poses a huge threat to the available water resources, to livelihoods and to ecosystems. Routine drought monitoring is fundamental for developing an early warning system and an area-specific drought mitigation and adaptation framework. Surface waterbodies, especially those in arid and semi-arid environments, are vulnerable to the impacts of drought. The development of moderate-resolution sensors, such as the Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and the Sentinel-2 Multispectral Instrument (MSI), allow new opportunities to monitor droughts and their impact on surface waterbodies.