<P> A drought in the Western Cape province of South Africa began in 2015 and is resulting in a severe water shortage in the region, most notably affecting the city of Cape Town . With dam levels predicted to decline to critically low levels, the city announced plans for "Day Zero", when the municipal water supply will 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 consumption by more than half to around 500 million litres per day, resulting in the initial prediction of Day Zero in April 2018 being pushed back to 2019 . The situation however remains severe, particularly if the run of record dry winters continues through 2018 . </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 in mountainous areas close to the city . The dams are recharged by rain falling in their catchment areas, largely during the cooler winter months of May to August, and dam levels decline during the dry summer months of December to February during which urban and agricultural water use increases . </P>

Why there is water crisis in cape town