Cape Town weather warning: ‘Extreme heat’ over next 48 hours

Whew! It’s heating up in Cape Town. The South African Weather Service (SAWS) announced that the Western Cape is in for a scorcher with ‘persistently high temperatures’ expected to last until the evening of Saturday, 15 January.

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) issued an extreme heat advisory for the Western Cape on Thursday afternoon, 13 January. The warning is in place from Thursday until the weekend and is expected to affect the City of Cape Town and the interior of the province.

EXTREME HEAT WARNING ISSUED FOR CAPE TOWN

The weather service said the “very hot conditions” is the result of a predominantly light northerly wind flow over the interior of the Western Cape.

“Temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius and above are likely to occur over the Cape Winelands, Central Karoo and Oudsthoorn municipalities,” said SAWS.

The “persistently high temperatures are expected to affect parts of the City of Cape Town, Drakenstein and Stellenbosch municipalities into Friday, while the Knysna municipality will be affected into Saturday, 15 January.

ALSO READ: Four fantastic picnic spots in Cape Town

The extreme heat advisory is in effect from 12:00 on Thursday until 19:00 on Saturday.

Potential impacts include:

• Hyperthermia is a possibility, said SAWS due to the extremely high temperatures, as the human ability to lower body temperature through sweating is reduced.
• Extreme heat in drought stricken areas can dry out vegetation and contribute to veldfires.

As a precaution, the weather service recommended avoiding prolonged exposure to the sun as far as possible and drinking plenty of water.

 “Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated. Never leave kids or animals in the car unattended and ensure your animals have access to enough water,” said SAWS.

By: Storm Simpson