The South African Weather Services (SAWS) has issued a warning to residents of Johannesburg to brace themselves as a cold front is expected to hit most parts of the city starting Tuesday and for the rest of the week.
Gauteng Weather (@tWeatherSA) said: “cold front expected to reach Gauteng in the early hours of Tuesday! Temperatures to drop to early to mid single digits figures overnight!!!”
City of Joburg Emergency Management Services has noted with concern the warning of the cold front with strong winds and has assured residents that it will remain on high alert during this period.
Robert Mulaudzi, spokesperson for the City of Joburg Emergency Management Services, said: "These extremely cold temperatures will force most of our residents throughout the city of Johannesburg to use heating devices to try and warm themselves in the process leaving them vulnerable to fire incidents at home. Residents are urged to exercise caution when using heating devices and not leave them unattended while in use to prevent fire incidents at home during this cold front."
The City of Joburg EMS will be on high alert, monitoring all 7 regions of the City of Joburg, and will be targeting the most vulnerable communities, informal settlements, to ensure that they can effectively respond to all emergencies that might occur during the cold front.
"Our disaster management monitoring teams are also on high alert in all 7 regions of the City of Johannesburg, and all our 29 fire stations are fully operational to deal with all emergencies which might occur during this cold front, said Mulaudzi.
Joburg EMS has urged that for any life-threatening emergencies, residents should make use of the emergency call centre at 011 375 5911.
Other parts of the country, such as the City of Cape Town, have also been experiencing the cold front, heavy rains and winds while other parts, such as KwaZulu-Natal, experience hot, dry, and windy conditions.
IOL