Tuesday, Jul 28, 2026 The claims desk. Receipts included. POWERED BY LENZ
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The Claim

Station-based observations from the Kgalagadi/Kalahari Gemsbok National Park area show that the mean annual maximum temperature in the Kgalagadi region increased by about 0.039°C per year (about 1.6°C over 40 years).

The Short Version

The claimed warming rate is broadly supported, but the exact framing overstates precision. A station record from Twee Rivieren shows mean annual maximum temperature rising by about 1.95°C from 1960 to 2009, or roughly 0.040°C per year, which is very close to 0.039°C per year. The “about 1.6°C over 40 years” wording is an approximation rather than a directly reported park-wide 40-year result.

Caveats

  • The best-matched evidence comes from a specific station record at Twee Rivieren, not a directly reported trend for the entire Kgalagadi region.
  • The quoted annual rate is derived from a 49-year period; the “1.6°C over 40 years” figure is an extrapolated approximation.
  • Regional studies support similar warming magnitudes, but they do not independently confirm this exact numeric rate for the park area.

The Receipts

  1. Climate – Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park - SANParks

    SANParks

  2. Temporal Changes in Minimum and Maximum Temperatures at Selected Locations of Southern Africa - MDPI

    MDPI

  3. CLIMATE CHANGE - Water Research Commission

    Water Research Commission

  4. Kalahari - Gemsbok National Park - BirdLife South Africa

    BirdLife South Africa

  5. The Kalahari Desert is becoming too hot for birds: new study | UCT News

    UCT News

  6. Assessing protected area vulnerability to climate change in a case study of South African national parks - ResearchGate

    ResearchGate

  7. Temporal Changes in Minimum and Maximum Temperatures at Selected Locations of Southern Africa - OAR@ICRISAT

    OAR@ICRISAT

  8. Full article: Changing socio-ecologies of Kalahari: Local perceptions towards environmental change and tourism in Kgalagadi, Botswana - Taylor & Francis

    Taylor & Francis

  9. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park - South African History Online

    South African History Online

  10. Kgalagadi Climate - Botswana - nomadseason

    nomadseason

+ 5 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

Kalahari Gemsbok National ParkKgalagadi RegionKgalagadi Transfrontier Park

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