Abstract
There is a paucity of detailed information regarding the climate of South Africa for the period preceding reliable meteorological instrumentation. Documentary evidence of climatic change, including missionary, official and archival material, is a useful surrogate source of information that is used to extend the rainfall record in the southern and south-eastern parts of the country. Chronologies of yearly rainfall variations for these areas are deduced from a detailed study of various documentary sources. The nature and extent of extreme events such as drought and flood episodes are identified. Corroboration of the chronologies with relevant dendrochronological and meteorological data enhances the documentary-derived weather chronology. Frequency analysis of rainfall for both the eastern and southern Cape, for the periods 1820–1900 and 1900–1980, indicates that the pattern of rainfall variability in these areas has not changed greatly over the past two centuries. Documentary evidence is shown to be a viable means of reconstructing past climates of areas in South Africa devoid of long and detailed instrumental records.
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Vogel, C.H. A documentary-derived climatic chronology for South Africa, 1820–1900. Climatic Change 14, 291–307 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00134967
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00134967