climate Article The Occurrence of Drought in Mopani District Municipality, South Africa: Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation Ndamulelo Nembilwi 1, *, Hector Chikoore 2 , Edmore Kori 1 , Rendani B. Munyai 3 and Tshilidzi C. Manyanya 4   Citation: Nembilwi, N.; Chikoore, H.; Kori, E.; Munyai, R.B.; Manyanya, T.C. The Occurrence of Drought in Mopani District Municipality, South Africa: Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation. Climate 2021, 9, 61. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli9040061 Academic Editor: Chris Swanston Received: 5 February 2021 Accepted: 30 March 2021 Published: 9 April 2021 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). 1 Department of Geography and Geo-Information Sciences, University of Venda, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa; Edmore.Kori@univen.ac.za 2 Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Vanderbijlpark 1900, South Africa; 32945280@nwu.ac.za 3 Department of Geography, University of South Africa, Science Campus, Florida 1709, South Africa; munyarb@unisa.ac.za 4 Division of Nature, Forest and Landscape, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; tshilidzicloudia.manyanya@student.kuleuven.be * Correspondence: ndamu@tigersgeo.co.za Abstract: Mopani District Municipality in the northeast of South Africa is largely semi-arid and frequently affected by meteorological droughts. The recent 2015/16 event had devastating impacts on water levels, crop yields, livestock herds and rural livelihoods. We investigated the nature of the drought hazard; its impacts, including vulnerability of rural communities in Mopani District and adaptation strategies they have employed to cope with drought. A mixed methods approach with both quantitative and qualitative datasets was used. The district was divided into two distinct climatic areas: the drier eastern lowveld and the wetter western bushveld. Questionnaires were administered among community members whilst key informant interviews were conducted among relevant government and municipal officials. Climate data was used to characterize historical drought using a Standardized Precipitation and Evapotranspiration Index whilst vegetation anomaly maps were used to demonstrate impacts. Spatially distinct patterns of drought conditions were evident with harsh and dry conditions towards the east. It was found that nearly half the time there is some form of drought or another in the district mostly linked to the remote El Nino phenomenon. In several areas, rain-fed agriculture is no longer tenable, with a direct impact on rural livelihoods. A Household Vulnerability Index determined variable levels of vulnerability such that different strategies are employed to adapt to drought some of which cause environmental problems. Local government intervention strategies include supply of seeds and fertilisers, providing cheap fodder and supplying water using trucks. The findings of this study contribute to disaster risk reduction efforts in a region that is highly vulnerable to current and future climate-risks. Keywords: drought trends; vulnerability; adaptation; climatic change; hazard 1. Introduction Drought is a normal recurring aspect of climate variability experienced globally particularly in the semi-arid subtropics. According to the Koppen climate classification, South Africa’s Limpopo Province in the northeast is classified as mainly semi-arid, making it vulnerable to drought hazards [1]. In a country with an annual average rainfall of 450 mm, which is way below the global annual rainfall of 860 mm, any disturbance in rainfall patterns can bring profound impacts on communities’ livelihoods and environment [2]. The rainfall distribution in Limpopo Province is characterised by high spatial and temporal variability [3] which may be partially attributed to strong spatial gradients in elevation in the area. During the 1991/92 austral summer rainfall season, the region encountered one of worst droughts which affected most smallholder famers’ income in negative ways and increased the food import rates [4]. Climate 2021, 9, 61. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli9040061 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/climate