If you’ve been thinking about a trip to South Africa, you might want to book it now. In only a handful of months, Cape Town could be the first major city to run out of water.
According to Travel + Leisure, the major tourism capital is in the midst of the worst drought the country’s seen in nearly 100 years. Because of the irregularly dry winters—which have caused low dam levels—officials plan to turn off the city’s water taps on April 22, when the dam levels are expected to fall beneath 13.8 percent of what they should be.
Cape Town’s irregularly dry winters have resulted in low dam levels that could lead city officials to shut off water taps on April 22.
The residents are being told to use the little water as possible to continue pushing back the date on this extreme measure, but their current efforts (decreased water pressure, no watering lawns, and no car washing) reportedly aren’t effective enough. And if Capetonians reach their so-called “Day Zero,” everyone will have to line up at checkpoints around the country to receive daily water rations, with the whole exchange supervised by police and the military.
If you do end up getting tickets to visit South Africa before April, just know the Cape Town water shortage will likely effect your healthy travel amenities in ways like not getting ice in your drinks or not being able to use steam rooms and hot tubs. And, at least stay hydrated on the plane, using these flight-attendant-approved tips.
Here are seven places to add to your travel bucket list this year. Also, this is why you might want to check out Vancouver.
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