Rain clouds rolled in over Cape Town on Friday night and drenched South Africa’s drought-stricken city, where residents are bracing for the day the taps run dry, the day they’re calling “Day Zero.”
One local, in apparent disbelief, asked a friend if the rain was real.
This was the first substantial rainfal seen in three months.
The South African Weather Service recorded 6 millimeters of rain, or about 0.24 inches, at Cape Town’s Slangkop Lighthouse overnight.
The much-needed rainfall lightened the mood in a city plagued by three years of consecutive drought. But one night of rain is far from what Cape Town needs to avoid the looming water crisis.
The City of Cape Town has repeated its call to locals to continue to save drinking water, even though Day Zero has been pushed back again.
People must continue to save, reduce their consumption,” Deputy Mayor Ian Neilson told News24 on Monday.
“We can’t afford to relax the water-saving efforts.”