Climate Risk score
Climate exposure, hazard frequency, and adaptation context for floods, heat, storms, and wildfires.
Climate Risk in Cape Town66/100
Climate Risk
Climate Risk in Cape Town
Cape Town faces meaningful climate exposure from drought, heat, and wildfire pressure, balanced by active adaptation programs. Climate Risk in Cape Town scores 66/100, placing it in the developing group of the indexed set.
- Last updated
- 2026-05-16
- Data year
- 2025
- Module score
- 66/100
Primary hazard
Drought and heat
Drought cycles and sustained heat are the main hazards.
Water resilience
Active
Long-horizon water programs are central to operations.
Adaptation capacity
Improving
Climate plans and water programs build resilience.
Cape Town climate risk data table
This HTML table mirrors the visible score cards so important comparison data is never trapped in a browser-only chart.
| Metric | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Primary hazard | Drought and heat | Wildfire pressure is rising. |
| Water resilience | Active | Major infrastructure investment is ongoing. |
| Adaptation capacity | Improving | Implementation timelines extend into the medium term. |
Climate Risk city comparison
A crawlable comparison across a selection of same-country and top-scoring cities. The complete set is reachable via the rankings, the cities index, and each city profile.
| City | Score | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Cape Town (this page) | 66/100 | Cape Town faces meaningful climate exposure from drought, heat, and wildfire pressure, balanced by active adaptation programs. |
| Johannesburg | 70/100 | Johannesburg carries moderate climate exposure from heat, water variability, and intense storms, balanced by active adaptation programs. |
| Durban | 62/100 | Durban's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Stellenbosch | 62/100 | Stellenbosch's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Pretoria | 60/100 | Pretoria's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Geneva | 86/100 | Geneva's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Vejle | 84/100 | Vejle's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Oslo | 84/100 | Oslo carries moderate climate risk centered on heavy precipitation and stormwater pressure, with strong adaptation planning. |
| Basel | 84/100 | Basel's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Nanterre | 84/100 | Nanterre's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Vitry-sur-Seine | 84/100 | Vitry-sur-Seine's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Créteil | 84/100 | Créteil's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Vlaardingen | 84/100 | Vlaardingen's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Sandnes | 84/100 | Sandnes's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Blois | 84/100 | Blois's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Nyköping | 84/100 | Nyköping's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Hagen | 83/100 | Hagen's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Boulogne-Billancourt | 83/100 | Boulogne-Billancourt's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Bottrop | 83/100 | Bottrop's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Hengelo | 83/100 | Hengelo's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Roosendaal | 83/100 | Roosendaal's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Steyr | 83/100 | Steyr's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Cholet | 83/100 | Cholet's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Lustenau | 83/100 | Lustenau's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Frederiksberg | 82/100 | Frederiksberg's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Helsinki | 82/100 | Helsinki carries moderate climate risk centered on coastal storm exposure and stormwater pressure, with steady adaptation planning. |
| Munich | 82/100 | Munich carries moderate climate risk centered on river flooding and rising summer heat. |
| Aarhus | 82/100 | Aarhus's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Remscheid | 82/100 | Remscheid's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Roubaix | 82/100 | Roubaix's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Hanau | 82/100 | Hanau's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
Interpretation
Climate-risk scoring weighs hazard exposure with adaptation capacity. Cape Town's hazards are concurrent; programs have scaled up since recent drought cycles. Across the indexed cities the climate risk average is 62/100, so Cape Town is 4 points above the median. Data year 2025; last updated 2026-05-16. Drawn from 3 institutional references.
Read this module with the main open the cape town city profile and the read the scoring methodology page so single-topic pages do not hide tradeoffs across dimensions.
Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation. Verified datasets are being integrated; official sources should be used for critical decisions.
Sources
3 institutional references inform this view, listed below with reliability notes. Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation; verified datasets are being integrated and official sources should be used for critical decisions.
- IPCC: AR6 WGII Chapter 6: Cities, settlements and key infrastructure
Used to explain urban climate vulnerability and adaptation scoring logic.
- NASA: NASA POWER
Used as an energy-resource and weather-normalization reference.
- UN-Habitat: World Cities Report 2024
Used as a policy and methodology reference for urban exposure and resilience signals.
Continue exploring
These links connect module pages back to city, ranking, and sibling topic paths with crawlable href values.
Cape Town city profile
Return to the complete Cape Town profile with all module scores and source context.
Cost of Living in Cape Town
Affordability, essential costs, and day-to-day financial pressure for residents.
Air Quality in Cape Town
Health-oriented air-quality conditions with context from WHO, EEA, and EPA benchmarks.
Energy in Cape Town
Clean-energy readiness, grid resilience, and solar or efficiency opportunity signals.
Safety in Cape Town
Personal safety, institutional trust, and resilience signals informed by international safety and crime data.
Internet Speed in Cape Town
Broadband and mobile connectivity quality, latency, and digital-readiness signals for residents and remote workers.
Overall Intelligence
A balanced ranking of cities across affordability, air quality, clean-energy readiness, and resilience.
Quality of Life
Cities that combine strong services, mobility, safety, clean air, and resilience into a healthy day-to-day profile.