Lesson no 2

Weather

 

South Africa is situated in the southern subtropical zone, but due to varying elevation and the influence of the Indian and Atlantic Ocean it has a wide variety of climates. The Eastern coast for example is especially in winter the warmest part of the country thanks to the warm Agulhas Current. The climate at the western coast and also many parts of the country’s interior is much colder. Johannesburg on the other hand is situated at an altitude of more than 1700 metres above sea level. I need to drive only an hour to Pretoria which is less elevated and where the temperatures can be about 5 or 6 degrees Celsius warmer. 

So far here in Joburg the temperatures were quite enjoyable – even in summer. Most of the time they were between 25 and 30 degrees, on some rare days also up to 35 degrees. But because of the high elevation it’s very easy to get sunburned – especially for me with my rather sensitive skin – so that I sometimes only had to stay in the sun for 15 minutes until I started to turn red…In late spring and summer it was also raining almost every day. But not that long lasting gentle drizzling rain that I was used to from Germany. Instead it normally only rained in the evenings and most of the time only for less than an hour but so heavy that the streets seemed to turn into dirty rivers. Now that it is winter we haven’t had any rain for at least two months. That’s why it is very dry and bushfires are developing everywhere. Besides the winter temperatures for the moment are very cold! With up to 20 degrees during the day of course it is still quite warm compared to German winter, but at night the temperatures are almost dropping to freezing point. As our building is very badly isolated, my windows don’t shut completely and I only have a tiny little heater in my room I feel like living very close to the South Pole!

But what I really love about the South African weather is that no matter what season it is the sun is actually always shining. So even if it is cold for the moment you just need to go out into the sun to heat up - so it’s not comparable to the dark and uncomfortable German winter days.