Cape Town – The hottest month of the year is here, with soaring temperatures and increasing humidity hitting Capetonians this week.
The South African Weather Service has warned that the hot weather will continue in the Western Cape today, with the UVB sunburn index hitting the extreme mark.
Wednesday was a scorcher in Cape Town, with the temperature rising to 31ºC, accompanied by strong winds.
Today, Thursday, the weather service said the Western Cape would experience partly cloudy conditions over the eastern interior, and fine and warm to hot – very hot – in the west.
“It will become partly cloudy along the south coast from late afternoon. The wind along the coast will be moderate to fresh south-easterly but strong along the south-west coast,” it said.
Cape Town Weather Office senior forecaster Ntshalle Nake said these conditions were normal for this time of year, with February known to be the hottest month of the year.
Nake said Cape Town should expect temperatures of 28ºC from Thursday until Saturday, with minimum temperatures of 18ºC to 20ºC.
Nake warned that the risk of bush fires was higher in these hot, dry and windy conditions.