Frozen yoghurt sales are up but milk production is down. Elephants and bears are cooling off on ice-lollies, but the elderly are at increased risk of heat stroke.These are some of the effects of the heatwave scorching Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.But some respite, albeit slight, is on the way. From today, Gauteng residents can turn down their air conditioners - the mercury is expected to drop to the lower 30s.Limpopo and Mpumalanga residents have to wait until tomorrow.But Cobus Olivier, a long-term forecaster at the SA Weather Service, warned that it was going to be a "hot dry summer" because of the El Niño climate cycle, which disrupts normal weather patterns and will lead to less rainfall in South Africa.The weather this month has been "unusual", said Liesl Dyson, a meteorologist at the University of Pretoria. According to the SA Weather Service a heat wave in October is unusual - the last recorded were in 2011 in Johannesburg and 2012 in Pretoria.A heatwave is defined as temperatures five degrees higher than the average maximum for the month that continue for three days or more. The current heatwave has lasted for about nine days.Yesterday, the Tshwane municipality lifted water restrictions that had been in place in 11 Pretoria suburbs since Friday. Some areas had to rely on water tankers.AgriSA senior economist Thabi Nkosi said October was traditionally the planting season for farmers but the lack of moisture in the soil had made it necessary to delay planting, which boded ill for maize production.Organic dairy farmer Elizabeth Wertheim Aymes, in Hekpoort, said cattle were suffering in the heat and dairy production had dropped considerably."Cows are not so bright and don't always gather in the shade," she said.Erin Kriel, operations manager at Smooch frozen yoghurt, said summer always brought an increase in sales but sales had been better in the past two weeks than usual.Elephants at Pretoria Zoo have been given vegetable ice-lollies, and bears and penguins iced hake to cool them down, said zoo spokesman Chris Allenby.Nadie Mahri, a nurse at the Ekklesia home for the aged, in Johannesburg, said the elderly had to be particularly careful to drink more because they are at higher risk of dehydration...