Heatwave: Residents urged to exercise caution amid stage 6 load shedding

The heatwave that has seen a spike in electricity demand, and low dam and diesel levels contributed in pushing load shedding up to stage 6 is set to continue at least until Tuesday.

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) warned of heatwave conditions with persistently high temperatures this week.

Precautions

City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said they have noted with concern the warning from Saws and urged residents to exercise extreme caution during the scorching weather.

“EMS would like to encourage residents to continue to exercise caution when conducting daily activities.  Stay hydrated drink lots of water, avoid direct sunlight especially between 11h00 and 15h00, take regular breaks when working directly into Sunlight, exposure to this extremely hot temperatures can cause heat exhaustion, heat cramps which might lead to heat stroke.”

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Mulaudzi also urged residents to monitor young children to stayaway from river streams/dams.

“With these extremely hot temperatures young children might be tempted to swim in these dangerous areas which might cause drowning incidents, residents who has swimming pools at home are urged to monitor young children, make sure that young children are always monitored while swimming not left unattended, swimming pools must always be covered by a safety net when not in use.”

Veld fires

Mulaudzi also warned that with these extremely hot temperatures there is also a risk of Veld fires.

“Residents are urged to exercise caution when making fires make sure that fires are controlled to prevent situations were fire spread uncontrollably causing destruction to properties and environment.

“City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services will remain on high alert over the weekend to make sure we can effectively respond to all the emergencies which might occur in all 7 regions of the City of Johannesburg,” Mulaudzi said.

Heatwave to blame for stage 6

Meanwhile, the heatwave also drove a spike in demand for electricity on Friday – about 1 500MW above Thursday’s levels, according to Eskom Group executive for generation Bheki Nxumalo.

Nxumalo said an increased demand for air conditioning and fans, could be blamed for the load shedding at stage 6 level.

“The increase in demand can be attributed to the heatwave we are experiencing because we suspect it is coming from the air conditioning,” he said.

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa apologised again for the stage 6 load shedding saying  Eskom would provide a further update on the progress of the situation on Sunday.

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