Gauteng residents have been warned to brace for a heatwave across several parts of the province.
The South African Weather Service (Saws) said extremely hot temperatures are expected in several parts of the country from Monday.
“A heatwave with persistently high temperatures is expected over the central and south-eastern parts of the North West and the northern parts of the Free State until Wednesday,” warned the weather service on Sunday.
The north-western parts of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), north-eastern parts of the North West, Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga will experience the heatwave until at least Friday.
In Gauteng, the mercury is expected to hit the high thirties in some areas.
Temperatures in Johannesburg are forecast to start off at a minimum of 18°C becoming very hot and reaching a high of 33°C this week.
Pretoria is also expected to be hot with scorching temperatures starting with a minimum of 20°C becoming very hot and reaching a high of 36°C.
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Meanwhile, Johannesburg Emergency Services (EMS) has taken note of the heatwave conditions.
Spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi has urged residents to take precautions.
“It’s extremely in most parts of the City of Johannesburg. Residents are urged to stay hydrated, drink lots of water and stay away from direct sunlight between 11am and 3pm in the afternoon.
“Those who are working directly in the sunlight are urged to take regular breaks and the elderly who are on medication to stay in cool areas because exposure to this extremely hot temperatures can lead to heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke,“ Mulaudzi said.
Mulaudzi has also urged residents to be aware of veld fires.
“As the City of Johannesburg, we remain on high alert for any emergencies which might occur in all seven regions of the City of Johannesburg.
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