Study predicts of 25 percent surface water drop in Africa in 2100

Johannesburg - Changes in rainfall as a result of global warming could leave one quarter of the African continent dry by the end of the century, according to a study by South African scientists.

The study published in the the scientific journal 'Science' on Thursday took into account the loss of water drainage from lakes and rivers across the continent, using climate models for the 21st Century.

Maarten de Wit and Jacek Stankiewicz of the University of Cape Town stated: 'Using predicted precipitation changes, we calculate that the decrease in perennial drainage with significantly affect present surface water access across 25 per cent of Africa by the end of this century'.