Johannesburg – Winter is moving in and South Africa’s weather is starting to change.
With mildly unseasonal rain falling over the past few weeks in Gauteng, Joburg residents experienced another cold and wet weekend due to a weather system moving through the region.
Temperatures have also been fluctuating between cool and warm weather.
The Star spoke to weather presenter and environmental consultant Simon Gear, who explained: “The weekend was cloudy and quite cool; the late season means that a cloudy day now gets chillier than a cloudy day in January.”
According to a number of studies done by Unicef (UN Children’s Fund) South Africa and the Department of Environmental Affairs, global warming is beginning to affect South Africa’s weather patterns.
Where in western parts of the country drought and dry weather has become more common, wetter weather is more prevalent in the eastern part of the country.
There are also health concerns associated with global warming and climate change that could affect South Africa in the future.
More people, especially children and the elderly, could fall victim to heat waves, fires, storms and flooding caused by climate change. The combination of higher rainfall and higher temperatures in provinces like the Free State and North West could lead to more cases of malaria.
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) released a statement which confirmed that temperatures in South Africa are generally warming due to climate change.
“Autumn temperatures appear to be rising at a faster rate than other seasons. However, these changes are gradual and in line with the warming of other regions, as a result of climate change.” However, it’s not doom and gloom just yet.
The SAWS said that despite the higher amount of rainfall over Joburg in the first half of this month, it’s not unseasonal.
“Rain in Gauteng during autumn is not unusual in spite of colder and wetter winter conditions forecast by the SAWS seasonal forecaster.”
The SAWS also told The Star about the winter Gauteng can expect.
“We cannot support the statement that this coming winter will be one of the coldest on record,” it said.
“There are some indicators that may favour cooler than average conditions, but the likelihood of Gauteng experiencing unusually chilly weather conditions for mid-winter is slim, although the possibility cannot be ruled out completely.”
The Star