It may be a far cry from the sub-zero record temperature of -18.6 recorded on the farm Buffelsfontein near Molteno in the Eastern Cape in 1996, but the country’s best barometer of cold weather, Bothaville, is experiencing its coldest winter in decades.
That’s according to Johan van den Berg, independent agricultural climatologist who has said that for the last seven weeks the Free State town has only experienced seven nights where the mercury didn’t dip below freezing point.
That’s roughly one night above zero for every week since the start of July.
Seen differently, Bothaville’s general minimum temperature for this period this year has been -2.65 degrees, compared to the average of -0.4 for the last two decades.
It may very well be, Van der Berg told journalist Alani Janeke, that Bothaville is experiencing one of its coldest winters in maybe three decades.
With frost recorded over vast swathes of South Africa, rain and warmer weather is only predicted for regions to the east of the escarpment from middle September.
In the meantime significant rainfall has been recorded to the west of South Africa, boding well for dam levels and winter crops.
Ceres, Paarl, Jonkershoek, Malmesbury, Swellendam, Mossel Bay, Storms River and Tsitsikamma all received good rain, respectively measuring 50mm, 35mm, 35mm, 10mm, 5mm, 15mm, 30mm, and 12mm.
Even Niewoudtville in the Northern Cape received 10mm.
And although areas of the Eastern Cape also received rain, dam levels remain low. The same goes for Limpopo where first spring rain is much hoped for.
