The South African Weather Services has warned of a four-day heatwave for Gauteng, and the City of Johannesburg’s Emergency Management Services is advising people to stay out of the sun and drink lots of water.
Johannesburg will receive persistent high temperatures to over 33 degrees Celsius over the next four days.
The emergency management service’s spokesperson, Robert Mulaudzi said the service will remain on high alert in the next four days to make sure that it can be able to respond to any emergency.
“This current heat wave means that most of the citizens of the city of Johannesburg will be exposed to extremely hot temperatures, exposure to this kind of heat can easily lead to heat Cramps, Exhaustion or heat Stroke,” he said.
There are also possibilities of veld fires due to the hot, dry and windy weather. Mulaudzi said people are discouraged from dumping their burning cigarettes butts in dry grass or not monitoring open veld fires.
Heatwave safety tips:
- Keep indoors if possible
- Keep cool by taking lots of fluids and wearing light clothing
- Protect young children by wearing hats and sunscreen
- Stay away from direct sunlight especially between 11am and 3pm
- Avoid alcoholic, caffeinated or carbonated drinks
- Take frequent breaks if you are working outdoors
The emergency management service advises the City’s residents to take a dip in a municipal pool to coll off, saying there are life guards on site.
For any life threatening emergencies call 10177 on a landline or 112 on your cell phone or 011 375 5911.
