City set to sizzle

CITY residents can start bracing themselves for some hot weather with temperatures expected to reach the high 30s from tomorrow.

The SA Weather Office yesterday warned that extremely high fire danger conditions are expected over the Namaqua district of the Northern Cape, the western interior of the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape.

“A heatwave with persistently high temperatures are expected over the West Coast District, Cape Metropole, Cape Winelands and the Garden Route District of the Western Cape and along the coastal areas of the Northern Cape,” the weather office said in its advisory yesterday.

In Kimberley, a maximum temperature of 35 degrees Celsius is expected for tomorrow, up from 33 degrees C today. On Saturday, the temperature will climb to 36 degrees C and on Sunday and Monday it is expected to be 37 degrees.

Some relief is expected by Wednesday next week, when the maximum is expected to drop again to 25 degrees C. The good news is that dams in the Northern Cape are 81.8% full, although this is slightly down from 84% this time last year.

According to a weekly Department of Water and Sanitation report, Gauteng dams are at a whopping 98% following heavy rains in that province last weekend.

“The Vaal Dam, which straddles across the Free State, Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape, boasts an average of 85%. This is likely to increase its levels if more rain comes down in the next few weeks,” the department said.

“Even though most parts of the country look stable, the Department of Water and Sanitation would like to caution water users not to get carried away and to use water sparingly.”

According to the department’s long-term forecast, above-normal rainfall is expected over most of the summer rainfall areas during early summer but below-normal during mid-summer. Temperatures are also expected to be above normal.

It added that although rainfall has been received in drought-stricken provinces, conditions have not significantly improved. “Summer rainfall regions have generally reported reasonable to poor conditions of livestock and the veld.”

The South African Weather Service has stated that in general a drier and warmer summer season is expected, however it is not expected to be consistent throughout the whole of summer. This may have a more negative impact on agriculture, especially dryland agriculture which relies on consistent rain.

– Patsy Beangstrom