Extremely high fire danger conditions expected in parts of Western Cape

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has warned against “extremely high” fire danger conditions in places over the Berg River Municipality in the Western Cape on Tuesday.

This after Western Cape firefighters were hard at work as fires raged in the province over the weekend.

This weekend, Cape Town was declared the hottest place to be on the globe. The extreme heatwave did not come without consequences, as fires engulfed most parts of the Western Cape.

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment’s Working on Fire programme dispatched more than 20 aerial resources to assist in fighting 12 fires from Friday, 21 January to Sunday, 23 January.

A total of 88 firefighters from seven Working on Fire teams braved the heat and were dispatched to assist in the suppression efforts of five of the 12 fires.

Fires were reported in the City of Cape Town, Cape Winelands, West Coast, the Overberg region, and in the Garden Route.

READ MORE: Western Cape: 12 fires break out during heatwave over the weekend

Showers and thundershowers in other provinces

Gauteng: Partly cloudy and warm with isolated afternoon showers and thundershowers on the Highveld.

Mpumalanga: Cloudy in the east in the morning with fog patches along the escarpment, otherwise partly cloudy and warm to hot.

Limpopo: Cloudy in the east at first with morning fog patches along the southern escarpment, otherwise partly cloudy and warm to hot with showers in the northeast.

North West: Fine and warm, becoming partly cloudy with isolated showers and thundershowers in the extreme south-east

Free State: Fine and warm, becoming partly cloudy with isolated showers and thundershowers, except in the extreme north-west.

Northern Cape: Cloudy in the morning with early morning isolated showers and thundershowers, otherwise partly cloudy and warm to hot. Isolated showers and thundershowers can be expected again in the afternoon, except in the west and in the north. The wind along the coast will be fresh to strong southerly to south-easterly.

Western Cape: Cloudy along the south coast with drizzle expected for the morning and evening, otherwise fine to partly cloudy and warm, but hot to very hot over the western and northern interior. Isolated showers and thundershowers are expected over the eastern interior during the afternoon. The wind along the coast will be moderate to fresh southerly to south-easterly along the south coast, otherwise strong along the west and south-west coast. The expected UVB sunburn Index: Extreme

Western half of the Eastern Cape: Cloudy along the coast, otherwise fine and warm, becoming partly cloudy over the interior with isolated afternoon showers and thundershowers. The wind along the coast will be moderate southwesterly, becoming south-easterly in the afternoon.

Eastern half of the Eastern Cape: Partly cloudy along the coast, otherwise fine and warm, becoming partly cloudy
over the interior with isolated showers and thundershowers in the afternoon, spreading to the Wild Coast in the evening. Light evening rain is also expected along the coast. The wind along the coast will be moderate southwesterly, becoming south-easterly in the evening.

KwaZulu-Natal: Morning fog over the interior, otherwise partly cloudy and warm but hot in the north, becoming cloudy in the afternoon with isolated showers and thundershowers over the south-western parts. The wind along the coast will be moderate to fresh northerly to north-easterly, becoming moderate southerly to south-westerly from the south from early morning spreading to Richard’s Bay by late morning.

The expected UVB sunburn Index: Extreme

Source: SA Weather Service. Additional reporting by Narissa Subramoney