The cold front, expected on Wednesday, will bring strong winds over the Southern Free State, which pales in comparison to the warnings issued for the Western, Eastern and Northern Cape provinces. 

Residents in the Namaqualand area - Steinkopf in particular - are already in the grips of the cold front. The area which has been adversely affected by drought for extended periods of time, is now experiencing some much needed rainfall. The weather services does, however, predict a high a chance of localised flooding in these areas. 

ER24’s Chief Medical Officer, Robyn Holgate, advises residents in the above-mentioned areas to keep warm as they are at risk of undergoing hypothermia during temperature drops. 

According to the Mayo Clinic, hypothermia is a condition in which the body loses heat faster than it can generate it, resulting in reduced concentration, slowed breathing and ultimately death, if untreated. Holgate cautions “you don’t have to be freezing for hypothermia to develop. There are many ways we can lose heat from the body. For example during the transfer of body heat to other objects like sitting on a cold metal chair, through evaporation which is responsible for about 20-30% of heat loss in temperate conditions, losing heat and through the conversion of water to gas”. Holgate encourages residents, especially vulnerable ones like the elderly and children, to stay indoors during such weather conditions.

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