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Johannesburg residents have been urged to be extra cautious when using heating devices in anticipation of a cold front this weekend.
This follows a warning from the South African Weather Services (SAWS) of the significant drop in temperatures in most parts of the City of Johannesburg from Friday towards the weekend.
Extremely cold, wet and windy temperatures are expected to hit this Saturday, said SAWS spokesperson Hannelee Doubell.
She added that weather conditions are expected to change significantly as a cold front and cut-off low-pressure system will introduce wintery conditions to the Western Cape, southern parts of the Northern Cape and the Eastern Cape from Thursday.
“Significantly colder conditions will then spread to KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and Mpumalanga
on Friday, and reach Gauteng, North West and Limpopo on Saturday,” she stated.
Doubell advised the public and small stock farmers to take the necessary precautions ahead of the expected adverse weather conditions to ensure the safety and health of their animals.
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She continued; “Current numerical weather prediction models indicate the possibility of light snowfall over the southern parts of Gauteng and the remainder of the Highveld of Mpumalanga on Saturday morning. However, there is significant uncertainty regarding this outlook, as the forecast may still change.”
Safe use of heating device during cold front
Joburg emergency services spokesperson, Robert Mulaudzi, urged residents to use all heating devices safely and not to leave them unattended while in use to prevent fire incidents at home during this extremely cold temperatures.
“We have our disaster management monitoring teams in all seven regions of the city of Johannesburg together with all our twenty-nine fire stations crew on high alert to ensure that we effectively respond to all emergencies which might occur during this cold front,” he cited.
Mulaudzi encouraged residents to also visit their BESAFE centers which are spread throughout the city for free life and fire safety educational training.
