Temperatures to plunge below zero as icy cold front hits SA

It’s going to be a chilly weekend in South Africa, with the temperature set to drop below zero. The weather conditions and cold front that hit the Western Cape earlier this week has now reached the northern parts of the country.

On Monday, the South African Weather Service (SAWS) confirmed that an “intense cold front” will make landfall in Cape Town on 10 June, with chilly weather conditions expected in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Gauteng as well.

Sub-zero temperatures, 12 to 14 June

The SAWS said that “frost conditions are expected over much of the interior of SA on Saturday and Sunday morning; and urges residents to take care of pets and those in need:

“A bitterly cold night ahead across the interior of South Africa as temperatures drop below freezing. Frosty conditions expected in morning. Cover sensitive plants, and take care of your pets. Stay safe and warm and help those in need where possible. Have a good weekend.”

According to the Gauteng Weather team, the overnight temperatures will be the lowest in 2020. Pretoria residents can expect sub-zero temperatures for the first time this year.

Pretoria temperatures are expected to drop to -1°C over the weekend. In addition, Vereeniging will drop to -4°C along with severe frost, while Joburgers can expect temperatures of around 3°C.

This does not bode well for South Africans, especially since Eskom released a power alert on Thursday, calling on citizens to turn off appliances as the power grid is “under severe pressure”.

Emergency Management Services on standby

City of Johannesburg’s (CoJ) Emergency Management Services’ (EMS) spokesperson, Robert Mulaudzi, said a significant drop of temperatures can be expected:

“We have noted with concern the warning message from the SAWS that most parts of Gauteng, including the City of Johannesburg will have significant drops in temperatures from Friday, June going into Saturday, 13 June”.

Mulaudzi also confirmed that the CoJ EMS Disaster Management Centre will be fully operational throughout the weekend and that Disaster Management Monitoring teams were dispatched to all seven regions within CoJ.

Focus on informal settlements

The CoJ EMS will remain on high alert “to ensure we are able to respond to any emergency which might occur.” He said informal settlements will be a priority:

“The main focus will be on our 189 informal settlements throughout the city since they are the most vulnerable to fire incidents in cold weather. The heating devices they use are left unattended most of the times”.

Also read – Watch: Heavy snowfall bombards parts of the Western Cape