Brrr… Gauteng residents warned to brace for cold weather

Gauteng residents have been warned to brace for cold weather this week as temperatures plummet to the low teens.

With winter coming, residents have been advised to “layer it up” to stay warm.

Regional forecaster, Gauteng Weather, forecasted low temperatures for the week with freezing minimums and high wind factors.

Cold weather

In Johannesburg, the mercury is expected to hover at a minimum of 0°C on Tuesday with a maximum of 21°C on Thursday.

Pretoria will see temperatures with a minimum of 3°C on Tuesday and maximum of 23°C on Thursday.

⚠️ALERT: CUT-OFF LOW BRINGS CLOUDY & POTENTIALLY WET WEATHER SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. WORST OF THE COLD IN GAUTENG MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY!!!

— Gauteng Weather (@tWeatherSA) June 2, 2024

The South African Weather Service (Saws) also issued severe warnings for multiple provinces, including the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

Disruptive snow, which could result in icy roads and traffic disruptions, is expected over the northern high ground of the Eastern Cape, the southern high ground of the Northern Cape, and the Central Karoo of the Western Cape.

Flooding is expected in parts of the coastal provinces.

ALSO READ: Weather update: Light snowfall predicted in Eastern Cape, Lesotho on Saturday

Eastern Cape deaths

The severe weather comes after as at least seven people died following devastating floods in parts of the Eastern Cape.

Deadly floods swept through parts of Kariega, Gqeberha, and East London, leaving a trail of devastation.

Over 500 people have been evacuated.

Beaches closed

At least eleven beaches have also been closed in KwaZulu-Natal following the weather warnings of persistent rainfall in areas of the Ray Nkonyeni Municipality (RNM), Umzumbe Municipality, Umdoni Municipality and Umuziwabantu Municipality, the South Coast Herald reported.

Bathing and other recreational activities have been suspended by the municipality due to bad weather and sea conditions.

The following beaches are closed until further notice:

• Hibberdene
• Umzumbe
• South Port
• St Mike’s
• Uvongo
• Manaba
• Margate
• Ramsgate
• Marina
• Trafalgar
• Port Edward

Emergency services

Meanwhile, the city of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) has urged residents, especially those living in informal settlements, to take extra precautions as with heating appliances as they try and keep warm during the cold weather.

Joburg EMS spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said people must not leave any heating appliances including candles, paraffin stoves and imbaulas unattended.

Mulaudzi said they will be on high alert.

“This extremely cold temperatures expected to continue. We have activated our Disaster Management Monitoring teams in all 7 regions of the City of Johannesburg and all our 29 Fire Station are fully operational and on high alert to respond to any emergencies which might occur.”

The City of Tshwane Emergency Services Department has also called on communities to remain alert  during thunderstorms, following a Yellow Level 2 warning for severe thunderstorms issued by Saws.

Load shedding

While the cold weather may have an impact on demand for electricity, Eskom on Friday announced that load shedding remains suspended until further notice, due to the on-going structural improvement in the reliability of the generation fleet.

Load shedding has currently been suspended for 65 consecutive days.

The last time South Africa experienced such an extended suspension of load shedding was the period between 5 December 2021 and 2 February 2022.

ALSO READ: No load shedding, but City Power warns load reduction could hit these areas to ‘protect from total collapse’