Sun-believable! Western Cape weather hits record high in 11 years

Residents have been warned to take precautons against the scorching temperatures. Picture: iStock The heat is making history. The South African Weather Service (Saws) confirmed on Friday that weather stations across the Western Cape and the Namakwa District in the Northern Cape have shattered their March temperature records.

Cape Town is baking as a brutal week-long heatwave has officially shattered the city’s long-standing maximum temperature records. “Preliminary data from the Saws show that several stations in the Western Cape have recorded their highest maximum temperatures in at least 11 years during the current heatwave event,” it said on Friday. The weather service explained that a stalled, intense high-pressure system is trapping heat in the upper atmosphere, fuelling these “extremely hot” conditions.

“These temperatures exceed those recorded during a similar extreme heat event on 3 March 2015, when parts of the province, particularly the Cape Metropole, broke long-standing temperature records.” The data reveals that Alexander Bayand Garies in the Namakwa District recorded new highs of 44.8°C and 43.5°C, respectively. This surpasses previous records that had stood for nine years. Furthermore, the Cape Metropole experienced extreme conditions, with Cape Town reaching a staggering 42.1°C.

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Kirstenbosch and Cape Point also set new benchmarks at 42.1°C and 40°C, respectively. Inland, the Cape Winelands did not escape the heat, with Worcester climbing to 42.7°C and Ceres hitting 41.3°C. The weather service said that the heat will begin to weaken and shift away from the region towards the end of the week.

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