<P> A drought in the Western Cape province of South Africa began in 2015, resulting in a severe water shortage in the region, most notably affecting the City of Cape Town and commercial agriculture . In early 2018, with dam levels predicted to decline to critically low levels by April, the city announced plans for "Day Zero", when if a particular lower limit of water storage was reached, the municipal water supply would largely be shut off, potentially making Cape Town the first major city to run out of water . Through water saving measures and water supply augmentation, by March 2018 the City had reduced its daily water usage by more than half to around 500 million litres (110,000,000 imp gal; 130,000,000 US gal) per day . Combined with good rains in the winter of 2018, by June 2018 dam levels had increased to 43% of capacity, which enabled the City of Cape Town to announce that "Day Zero" was unlikely for 2019 . Water restrictions will remain in place until dam levels reach 85%, and by 16 July 2018, the dam storage levels have reached 55.1% . </P> <P> The Cape Town region experiences a Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers and winter rainfall . Water is supplied largely from the six major dams of the Western Cape Water Supply System which are situated in the nearby mountainous areas . The dams are recharged by rain falling in the catchment areas, largely during the cooler winter months of May to August, and dam levels decline during the dry summer months of November to April during which urban water use increases and irrigation takes place in the agricultural areas . </P>

What is the major cause of water scarcity in south africa