Major cold weather alert for Gauteng, this is how to make a difference

Forecasts Chill Snow NSRI cold front weather Cape Town Joburg

Photo Credit: On File

Temperatures are predicted to drop to lows of one and two degrees this coming weekend, and this is how we can prepare and help others too.

Gauteng, South Africa – WeatherSA have listed some pretty low temperatures for this coming weekend. This is the first significant drop since the start of the chilly season.

⚠️ BREAKING: INTENSE COLD FRONT to hit SA from Friday, reaching Gauteng by Sunday!!! LOWEST TEMPERATURES SO FAR THIS YEAR POSSIBLE for GP, should early forecast materialise!

📌 Early days still & a lot could change, including intensity. More updates to follow in coming days.

— Gauteng Weather (@tWeatherSA) June 19, 2019

Are you prepared for the chill? We are not, but we had a little brainstorm on how to prepare because we are not ready! These are the tips we came up with, and they will apply from now until the start of summer in a few months.

Onesies are appropriate outfit choices when at home.
Make sure to have an available cuddle buddy, this can be your partner, your kids or your pets and if not… Tinder can help, if you are open to that sort of thing.
Pull out your slow cooker or soup pot and get cooking. Soups made with beans, lentils and other legumes are super tasty and great for the pre-payday pocket.
Assign a designated hot drinks maker or make a rotation of people who can make all the warm drinks.
Make sure your pets have appropriate cover and warm spots to retreat to.
Practice safe heat management, using heaters and other heating options are great, but they need to be done responsibly.
Do not use your hot water bottle; those things are dangerous if older than a few months. Find alternatives such as hot toddies and microwave bean bags.
Get ready for all the complaints about the cold.

Apart from the fun wintery tips above, there are some essential safety tips to remember too.

Don’t leave candles unattended.
Place a grid in front of your fire to avoid any fire sparks causing trouble.
Make sure a room is well ventilated when using fire to avoid carbon monoxide inhalation.
All heaters and heat sources should be switched off before going to sleep.
Make sure heating appliances are approved by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS).

Lastly, if you can feel the cold while snuggled up at home, just think of how the homeless and shelter animals might feel. Last winter, we created a helpful list of homeless shelters in the country. It is still a working list, so let us know if we need to add any more shelters that we may have missed.

You can also go drop off warm well-loved blankets at your local animal shelter.