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Human perception of climate change
Author(s) -
Rankoana Sejabaledi A.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
weather
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.467
H-Index - 40
eISSN - 1477-8696
pISSN - 0043-1656
DOI - 10.1002/wea.3204
Subject(s) - subsistence agriculture , livelihood , geography , indigenous , climate change , biodiversity , perception , socioeconomics , focus group , traditional knowledge , sample (material) , agriculture , ecology , sociology , psychology , neuroscience , chemistry , archaeology , chromatography , anthropology , biology
This study examines how changes in local climate are perceived by members of the indigenous community of Limpopo Province, South Africa, and how such changes affect the community's resources and livelihood systems. Community members were asked to report any changes in climatic conditions that they had observed between 1993 and 2015. Data were collected through focus group discussions and in‐depth interviews with a sample of participants born between 1930 and 1970. The results reveal that variations in temperature and rainfall have led to a perception of changing climatic conditions. These perceptions correlate with meteorological data on temperature and rainfall for Limpopo Province between 1993 and 2015. Changes in temperature and rainfall have a remarkable effect on the community's indigenous livelihood resources, such as subsistence food production, material culture, water and biodiversity.