WEATHER TODAY: Heat wave in Limpopo’s Western Bushveld, slight rain for Cape Town
· The South African
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A heat wave is expected in the Western Bushveld of Limpopo, and fire danger is extremely high over most of North West, the southern Northern Cape and the Central Karoo, with a veld fire warning for Rustenburg, De Aar and Beaufort West from 07:00 to 18:59. Richards Bay is the hottest at 36°C, while Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Paarl have a 60% chance of slight rain and the rest of the country stays largely dry.
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Weather warnings for Wednesday 21 October
SAWS has 2 weather warnings in force for Wednesday, the highest warning level 10 for veld fire conditions. Tap a warning to see the areas and what to do.
Red level 10Veld Fire ConditionsWhereBeaufort West, Laingsburg, De Aar, Schweizer-Reneke + 20 moreWhenWed 07:00 to 18:59Areas: Beaufort West, Laingsburg, De Aar, Schweizer-Reneke, Rustenburg, Lichtenburg, Frankfort, Pilanesberg, Victoria West, Koster, Tosca, Zeerust, Ottosdal, Noupoort, Ventersdorp, Wolmaranstad, Vryburg, Klerksdorp, Potchefstroom, VanWyksvlei, Hoedspruit, Bela-Bela, Nokaneng, Fetakgomo/Greater Tubatse – Burgersfort / Tubatse/.- Conditions are such that the FDI index is above 75. Under these conditions fires may develop and spread rapidly resulting in damage to property and possible loss of human and/or animal life.
- When the temperature is extremely high, humans’ ability to cool their bodies through sweating is reduced. This can be a real threat that may lead to hyperthermia. In an extremely hot environment, the most serious health and safety concern is heat stroke. Heat stroke can be fatal if medical attention is not available immediately.
- Extremely high fire danger conditions are expectedin places over the Central Karoo of the Western Cape, most parts of the North-West, southern parts of the Northern Cape, the Mafube local municipality of the Free State, as well as in places over southern Limpopo, and north-western Mpumalanga.
- A heat wave with persistently high temperatures is expected in places over the Western Bushveld of Limpopo until Friday (23/10/2026).
The moon tonight is a waxing gibbous, about 78% lit, and the next full moon is on Monday 26 October.
Weather today by province, Wednesday 21 October
View Weather Forecast for TomorrowView the weather tomorrow on the 7-Day Weather Forecast
Each province lists its main towns with today’s sky, low and high, rain chance and wind; every province starts closed, tap one to open it. Tide times are inside Western Cape, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Today Johannesburg peaks at 28°C.
Gauteng
Johannesburg, Pretoria, Soweto, VereenigingA dry day, with Pretoria the warmest at 31°C under partly cloudy skies after 12°C at dawn. Johannesburg, Soweto and Vereeniging reach 28°C under mostly clear skies from cold starts of 6°C to 7°C.Johannesburg todayMostly clear28°7°0%W 10 km/hTap for cities and townsTap to close GautengTowns todayTownWeatherLoHiRainWind km/hJohannesburgMostly clear7°28°0%W 10PretoriaPartly cloudy12°31°0%W 10SowetoMostly clear6°28°0%W 10VereenigingMostly clear7°28°0%WSW 10Western Cape
Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Paarl, George · tidesExpect slight rain in Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Paarl, a 60% chance, with highs of 19°C to 21°C. George has a 30% chance and 23°C. Beaufort West and Laingsburg face a veld fire warning from 07:00 to 18:59.Cape Town todaySlight rain19°14°60%NW 15 km/hTap for cities and townsTap to close Western CapeTowns todayTownWeatherLoHiRainWind km/hCape TownSlight rain14°19°60%NW 15StellenboschSlight rain10°20°60%NNW 15PaarlSlight rain11°21°60%NNW 10GeorgeSlight rain12°23°30%SW 15Tides: Cape TownDayLow tideHigh tideWed 21 Oct05:54, 18:3512:14Mpumalanga and Limpopo next today: Mbombela reaches 30°C and Polokwane reaches 28°C.
Mpumalanga
Mbombela, eMalahleni, ErmeloFog in Mbombela gives way to 30°C, while eMalahleni reaches 31°C and Ermelo 26°C after a chilly 4°C start. Fire danger is extremely high in the north-west, with no rain.Mbombela todayFog30°18°0%NNE 5 km/hTap for cities and townsTap to close MpumalangaTowns todayTownWeatherLoHiRainWind km/hMbombelaFog18°30°0%NNE 5eMalahleniPartly cloudy6°31°0%W 10ErmeloPartly cloudy4°26°0%WNW 10Limpopo
Polokwane, Tzaneen, Thohoyandou, MusinaA weather advisory covers Mokopane, Thabazimbi, Thohoyandou and Ba-Phalaborwa until 23:59, with a heat wave in the Western Bushveld until Friday. Musina reaches 35°C, Thohoyandou 34°C and Polokwane 28°C under cloud.Polokwane todayCloudy28°18°0%W 10 km/hTap for cities and townsTap to close LimpopoTowns todayTownWeatherLoHiRainWind km/hPolokwaneCloudy18°28°0%W 10TzaneenCloudy18°30°0%WNW 5ThohoyandouCloudy19°34°0%NNE 5MusinaCloudy21°35°0%ENE 5North West and Free State follow today: Mahikeng reaches 32°C and Bloemfontein reaches 25°C.
North West
Mahikeng, Rustenburg, Potchefstroom, KlerksdorpA veld fire warning covers Rustenburg, Lichtenburg and Schweizer-Reneke from 07:00 to 18:59. Rustenburg reaches 33°C, Mahikeng 32°C, Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp 30°C, all dry and mostly clear.Mahikeng todayMostly clear32°12°0%WSW 10 km/hTap for cities and townsTap to close North WestTowns todayTownWeatherLoHiRainWind km/hMahikengMostly clear12°32°0%WSW 10RustenburgMostly clear13°33°0%W 10PotchefstroomMostly clear9°30°0%WSW 15KlerksdorpMostly clear9°30°0%WSW 15Free State
Bloemfontein, Bethlehem, KroonstadDry and mostly clear, with Kroonstad at 29°C, Bethlehem 26°C and Bloemfontein 25°C after cool starts of 6°C to 9°C. Fire danger is extremely high in Mafube.Bloemfontein todayMostly clear25°7°0%W 15 km/hTap for cities and townsTap to close Free StateTowns todayTownWeatherLoHiRainWind km/hBloemfonteinMostly clear7°25°0%W 15BethlehemMostly clear6°26°0%WSW 15KroonstadMostly clear9°29°0%WSW 10Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal close the list today: Kimberley reaches 28°C, Gqeberha reaches 23°C and Durban reaches 26°C.
Northern Cape
Kimberley, Upington, Springbok, De Aar · tidesDe Aar is under a veld fire warning from 07:00 to 18:59 and reaches 25°C. Upington is the warmest at 31°C, Kimberley 28°C and Springbok 21°C under high cloud, with no rain.Kimberley todayMostly clear28°9°0%WSW 15 km/hTap for cities and townsTap to close Northern CapeTowns todayTownWeatherLoHiRainWind km/hKimberleyMostly clear9°28°0%WSW 15UpingtonMostly clear12°31°0%S 10SpringbokHigh cloud10°21°0%WSW 15De AarPartly cloudy10°25°0%W 20Tides: Port Nolloth (modelled)DayLow tideHigh tideWed 21 Oct05:17, 18:0011:37Eastern Cape
Gqeberha, East London, Mthatha, Queenstown · tidesA dry day, with Mthatha the warmest at 28°C after a 7°C start. East London and Queenstown reach 25°C and Gqeberha 23°C under cloud.Gqeberha todayCloudy23°13°0%SW 20 km/hTap for cities and townsTap to close Eastern CapeTowns todayTownWeatherLoHiRainWind km/hGqeberhaCloudy13°23°0%SW 20East LondonPartly cloudy13°25°0%WSW 15MthathaPartly cloudy7°28°0%SW 10QueenstownPartly cloudy9°25°0%W 15Tides: GqeberhaDayLow tideHigh tideWed 21 Oct06:29, 19:1300:22, 12:48Tides: East LondonDayLow tideHigh tideWed 21 Oct06:34, 19:1500:32, 12:57KwaZulu-Natal
Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Richards Bay, Newcastle · tidesNo rain is expected, with Richards Bay topping the country at 36°C, Newcastle 31°C, Pietermaritzburg 29°C and Durban 26°C after a mild 17°C start.Durban todayPartly cloudy26°17°0%S 10 km/hTap for cities and townsTap to close KwaZulu-NatalTowns todayTownWeatherLoHiRainWind km/hDurbanPartly cloudy17°26°0%S 10PietermaritzburgCloudy10°29°0%ESE 10Richards BayPartly cloudy18°36°0%N 10NewcastleCloudy10°31°0%W 15Tides: DurbanDayLow tideHigh tideWed 21 Oct06:36, 19:2000:35, 13:01View Weather Forecast for TomorrowView the weather tomorrow on the 7-Day Weather Forecast
Forecast data: the South African Weather Service and other third-party sources and providers, brought together with the latest AI tools. We take great care to get every figure right, but mistakes are possible.