While partly cloudy weather has been predicted for Thursday, relief in the form of rain is not predicted until Tuesday next week, when there is a 50% chance of rain.
WHILE the temperature in Kimberley on Monday afternoon at 4pm was hovering around 39 degrees Celsius, with a real feel of 43 degrees C, the good news from the SA Weather Office is that slightly cooler temperatures are on the cards for Tuesday.
Together with a warning of extremely high fire danger conditions expected over the central interior of the country, the weatherman also issued an advisory of a heatwave with persistently high temperatures over the extreme eastern parts of the Northern Cape, as well as the Lowveld of Limpopo, north-western parts of KwaZulu-Natal and places in the Free State and Gauteng.
Tuesday’s predicted maximum is slightly cooler, with a high of 32 degrees C expected. However, relief will not be long-lived, as the maximum will continue to climb during the course of the week, back to a high of 38 degrees C on Thursday and 39 degrees C by Friday and Saturday.
While partly cloudy weather has been predicted for Thursday, relief in the form of rain is not predicted until Tuesday next week, when there is a 50% chance of rain.
The Weather Office warned on Monday that extreme heat may result in heat rash, sunburn, cramps and edema, syncope and exhaustion and, in the worst case scenario heatstroke, which can lead to permanent disability or death if not treated urgently. “Heatwaves do not just pose a risk to humans but animals as well,” it stated.
According to the preliminary data for Sunday (October 18) provided by Weather SA, Kimberley had a maximum of 41.3 degrees, beating even Augrabies Falls where the maximum for the day was 39.2 degrees and Upington’s 35.4 degrees.
