Heat wave lingers across SA

While temperatures along the coast will be warm, it will be hot across most of the country on Friday as a heat wave lingers. A heat wave with persistently high temperatures is expected in the Western Bushveld of Limpopo, Gauteng, the Free State, the western parts of Mpumalanga, the North West, and the eastern parts of the Northern Cape until at least Sunday.

Spokesperson of the Department Water and Sanitation Sputnik Ratau said the Vaal Dam formed part of an integrated river system, which supplied water to the majority of residents in Gauteng as well as Eskom power stations.

“The current high temperatures in large parts of the country are here to stay and are gradually having a negative impact on South Africa’s dam levels. A weekly report by the Department of Water and Sanitation shows that as a result of sweltering temperatures, dam levels are dropping levels at an average of one percent week-on-week. Comparatively, dam levels in the country have dropped by 10%, from 74% to 64% compared to the same period last year.”

Weather forecast and UV index for all provinces

Gauteng: Partly cloudy and hot to very hot with isolated showers and thundershowers in the south.

UVB sunburn index: Very High

Mpumalanga: Fine and warm to hot, becoming partly cloudy in the west.

Limpopo: Fine and hot becoming partly cloudy in the south-western parts.

North-West Province: Fine and hot, becoming partly cloudy with afternoon thundershowers in the extreme east.

Free State: Cool along the coast with morning fog patches otherwise fine and warm to hot, becoming partly cloudy with afternoon thundershowers in the east. It will be very hot in the western parts. The wind along the coast will be fresh to strong southerly to south-easterly.

Northern Cape: Cool along the coast with morning fog patches otherwise partly cloudy and warm to hot with isolated afternoon thundershowers over the central parts and western parts. The wind along the coast will be fresh to strong southerly to south-easterly.

Western Cape: Cool along the coast with morning fog patches otherwise partly cloudy and warm to hot with isolated afternoon thundershowers over thecentral parts and western parts. The wind along the coast will be fresh to strong southerly to south-easterly.

UVB index: Very High.

Western half of the Eastern Cape: Cloudy and cool with mist along the coast, otherwise partly cloudy and warm to hot with isolated showers and thundershowers but scattered over the interior. The wind along the coast will be Light to moderate south westerly, becoming fresh west of Cape St Francis from late morning.

Eastern half of the Eastern Cape: Fine and warm to hot becoming partly cloudy with isolated showers and thundershowers, scattered over the northern parts. The wind along the coast will be Moderate to fresh south westerly, but light at times in places north of East London.

KwaZulu-Natal: Fine and warm, but hot to very hot in places over the interior. It will become partly cloudy in the afternoon with isolated showers and thundershowers in the extreme west. The wind along the coast will be Moderate to fresh northerly to north-easterly north of Durban otherwise moderate southerly to south-westerly, spreading northwards.

UVB index: Very High.

*Weather data provided by the South African Weather Service.

🔥🔥 HEATWAVE TIPS 🔥🔥

DRINK:
🚰Lots of water

EAT:
🥗🍉Cold foods

AVOID:
🍷Alcohol (yes, it dehydrates you)
☕️Coffee (“)
🌶Spicy food (“)

WEAR:
🛡Sunscreen
🕶Shades
🧢Hat
👚Light colours
👗Loose-fitting clothes

SEEK:
⛱Shade
🏡Shelter

TAKE:
🚿 Short, cold showers

— Gauteng Weather (@tWeatherSA) October 18, 2019