Gauteng to bake in record heatwave

05 January 2016 - 02:39 By Shaun Smillie

If the weatherman is right, Thursday will be a momentous day with temperature records tumbling. Across Gauteng the mercury is going to rise and rise.On Thursday afternoon, according to the SA Weather Service, the mercury will settle at 39C at OR Tambo International Airport, near Johannesburg.In Pretoria it will be even hotter at a predicted 42C.Both temperatures would set a record.According to Weather Service forecaster Mbavhi Maliage, the record for Pretoria is 39C, set last year. Johannesburg's record is 38.5C.It is getting hotter. Weather Service records show that between 1981 and 2010 the Joburg record was 33.7C, with Pretoria at 37.9C.Most of the interior will experience temperatures in the 30s this week.Vryburg is expecting the maximum temperature - just above 40C for the next five days."Last month there were three heatwaves," said Maliage.A heatwave is defined as being when the temperature is 5C hotter over three days than the average for the month.There is likely to be a heatwave this week for Johannesburg: the temperature is expected to be 34C today and 38C on Wednesday.The reason for the high temperatures, said Maliage, is the lack of rain and clear skies."Only on Friday are we expecting a 60% chance of rain across Gauteng, which should cool things off a little," she said.Friday's predicted temperature is 35C in Johannesburg and 37C in Pretoria.The Weather Service has alerted disaster management services about the dangerously high temperatures predicted...

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