Brace for scorching heat in seven provinces this weekend

NATIONAL NEWS - The South African Weather Service (Saws) has released its latest weather forecast for Saturday, 12 October.

The weather service has warned of extreme fire dangers in Limpopo and the Northern Cape, with a heatwave persisting across multiple provinces until Monday. Here’s what you need to know.

Weather warnings, 12 October

Fire danger warnings

The weather service has warned of extremely high fire danger conditions expected over places in the northern parts of Limpopo, in parts of the western highveld of Mpumalanga, Nama Khoi, Hantam municipalities of the Northern Cape, and the Central Karoo district of the Western Cape.

Advisories

A heat wave with persistently high temperatures is expected until Sunday over the extreme north-eastern parts of the Eastern Cape, the western parts of KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga, as well as Gauteng, but persisting until Monday over the eastern parts of the North West and the Free State.

Provincial weather forecast

Here’s what to expect in your province on Saturday, 12 October:

Western Cape:

Western Cape residents can expect cloudy skies with morning fog along the coast and adjacent interior where it will become partly cloudy and cool to warm; otherwise, it will be fine and hot but very hot over the eastern interior.

The region’s expected UVB sunburn index is “very high.”

Residents should take the necessary precautions against prolonged sun exposure.

Eastern Cape (western half):

There will be cloudy conditions with fog in places south-west at first; otherwise, it will be fine and very hot to extremely hot, but warm to hot in places along the coast and adjacent interior. It will become cloudy in places along the coast in the afternoon.

Eastern Cape (eastern half):

There will be cloudy weather with fog in places south of the escarpment at first; otherwise, it will be fine and warm to hot but very hot over the western interior. It will become partly cloudy in places along the coast in the evening.