Early warnings for bad weather in SA ‘step in right direction’

More has to be done to warn the public ahead of severe and extreme weather, say experts.

The National Disaster Management Centre’s Dechlan Pillay said the early warnings for all initiative was a step in the right direction.

“We have seen a larger scale impact on communities especially in South Africa and among vulnerable communities,” he said.

Large-scale impact on communities

Pillay said the problems usually arise from mitigation at the local level, the response and actions needed that are associated with hazards.

The South African Weather Service’s (Saws) Oupa Segalwe said the early warnings for all initiative was a two-year-old programme originated from the UN that wants to ensure everyone on earth is protected from hazardous weather, water and climate events by 2027.

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“Early warning systems play a critical role in protecting everyone. South Africa is one of those countries, in the southern part of the continent that is susceptible to extreme weather events.

“Just this week we saw a tornado ripping through Randfontein on the West Rand, causing a lot of devastation there,” Segalwe said.

He said this was the second tornado this year, with a tornado in Mpumalanga spotted in June. There was also a disruptive snow event in September.

Tornados in summer and disruptive snow in Spring

Saws senior forecaster Puseletso Mofokeng said from time to time, they questioned whether they were doing well, but added that Saws successfully issued a notice of extreme snowfall earlier this year.

Mofokeng said it was harder to forecast the tornado in Randfontein earlier this week.

“Those kinds of events don’t feature in general forecasting, but we are working very hard to cover this scale of events.”

Mofokeng said Saws covered forecasting for land, aviation and the sea.

“Remember the heavy floods in Durban in 2017. The warning was issued three days before.

2017 Durban floods weather warning issued 3 days before

“The challenge is, depending on the magnitude of the impact, it was said the amount of time was very little, but we try,” he said.

Mofokeng said there were big events where Saws would issue a warning well in advance.

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“For instance, when the cutoff low comes in, it provides a prediction of five days ahead and that is well within our capability.”

Vox weather meteorologist Annette Botha said it was important for weather to be accessible and engaging to the public in the digital space.

Important for weather to be accessible

Botha said extreme weather didn’t discriminate and affected all which was why it was important that an early weather warning reached everyone.

“Early weather warnings are only as effective as the public’s ability to act upon it,” she said.