Johannesburg - The SA Weather Service has warned that although it is not expecting more rain, the temperatures will remain low.
The service’s spokeswoman, Venetia Phakula, said it would remain cloudy and cold in Gauteng and surrounding areas.
“The temperatures will improve in the interior areas, but people should not expect warm days. It is winter; the temperature will remain cool to cold.”
Phakula advises people to keep warmly dressed as a minimum temperature of 5ºC is expected for tomorrow, though it may reach a maximum of 21ºC.
In an attempt to keep their houses warm, people sometimes accidentally set their homes alight.
City of Joburg Emergency Management Services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi said they had been called out for fires caused by heaters.
“There were no major fire incidents on Monday, but there were three house fires reported in Jeppestown, Douglasdale and Randburg,” he said.
“They were due to unattended heaters.
“There were also seven shacks that burnt down on Monday in Princess Crossing.
“No one was injured and the cause of the fire is still unknown,” he said.
Mulaudzi warned people to be mindful of their heaters.
Winter is, however, the least of Eskom’s worries, as the power facility has prepared itself for the increased electricity demand, it said.
Spokesman Khulu Phasiwe said it was operating optimally.
“We have absolutely nothing to worry about.
“Our prognosis is to get through the winter without load shedding,” he said.
Phasiwe said that if everything went well, Eskom would, in fact, get through the rest of the year without load shedding.
He did, however, urge customers to continue to use power efficiently.
The rainy, cold weather has caused some chaos on the roads, but spokesman for the Joburg metro police department, Wayne Minnaar, said the wet weather had not caused any serious accidents.
The Star