Get your blankets out: Cold front to hit Gauteng, emergency services on high alert

As the weather in Gauteng gets colder, with temperatures expected to drop significantly ahead of a cold front, Johannesburg Emergency Services is on high alert to deal with any incident that may occur.

The cold weather is a stark reminder that winter is coming, and it signals that South Africans should start taking out their blankets.

Cold front

Gauteng Weather warned residents to brace for a cold snap across parts of the province from Wednesday.

“Alert: First cold front of winter 2025 in Gauteng from Wednesday!”

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Gauteng Weather forecasts temperatures dropping to a minimum of 2°C in Johannesburg, with a high of  13°C.

Pretoria is forecasted to have a minimum of 4°C and a high of 15°C.

Precautions

Joburg Emergency Services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi expressed concern regarding the warning of a cold front expected to hit the City of Johannesburg.

“Residents of the City of Johannesburg are urged to prepare for a weather shift as the South African Weather Services has issued a warning for extremely cold temperatures in most parts of the City of Johannesburg from this coming Wednesday, 21 May 2025, towards the week.

“This drop in temperatures means that residents throughout the City of Johannesburg will be forced to use all sorts of heating devices to try and warm themselves in the process, making themselves vulnerable to fire incidents at home if heating devices are used unsafely/unattended,” Mulaudzi said.

Heating devices

Mulaudzi has urged residents to use all heating devices safely, including heaters, braziers, paraffin stoves and candles, and not to leave them unattended while in use to prevent fire incidents at home during the extremely cold weather.

“Keep burning candles out of reach of young Children. Don’t leave young Children unattended in a room with a lit candle, heater or paraffin stove

“Don’t connect electricity illegally; it’s dangerous to you, young children, and those around you. Instead, report any illegal connections in your area. Don’t leave any heater unattended while in use; it might cause fire at home,” Mulaudzi added.

High alert

Mulaudzi said they will be on high alert, monitoring all seven regions of the City of Johannesburg together with different management monitoring teams.

“All 29 fire stations are on high alert to ensure that we effectively respond to all emergencies which might occur during this Cold Front.”

For any life-threatening emergencies, residents are urged to call the Emergency Services Call Centre on 011 375 5911.

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