South Africa hit by icy blast as snow blankets several provinces | Africanews

https://www.africanews.com/2026/08/11/south-africa-hit-by-icy-blast-as-snow-blankets-several-provinces/

A bitter cold snap is sweeping across South Africa, bringing heavy snow, freezing temperatures and strong winds to several provinces. Snow has covered high-lying areas while forecasters warn of more wintry weather and rough seas along the coast.

50 points · 2 comments · view on lemmy.world

2 Comments

EastofEdson@piefed.ca · 5 pts · 27d (1 reply)

South Africa gets snow at higher elevations in winter. That isn't really news is it? Or is this an unusual event for some reason?

Edit: Sound more serious. Thanks @Tango@piefed.ca.

Tango@piefed.ca · 7 pts · 27d

Seems to be more severe than usual.

https://iol.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-08-11-completely-isolated-snow-cuts-off-kzn-communities-as-homes-are-blanketed/

KwaZulu-Natal communities in Impendle, Kokstad and Underberg have been severely hit by heavy snowfall on Tuesday, with some residents even left isolated and unable to communicate with the outside world.

In a statement released on Tuesday, KwaZulu-Natal Transport and Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma said teams from the Department of Human Settlements would be deployed to assist communities affected by the extreme weather.

Duma was speaking after inspecting areas around Kokstad that experienced heavy snowfall.

“We wish to single out the Kokstad and Impendle municipalities, where communities have been exposed to severe freezing temperatures,” Duma said in the statement.

He said some homes had been completely blanketed by snow, leaving residents dealing with leaking houses.

“Those houses are leaking as they have been completely blanketed by the snow,” he said.

Duma said communities living below the Drakensberg Mountain in Impendle had been particularly badly affected.

He said heavy snow had weakened network and cellular signals in some areas, leaving residents unable to access emergency services or communicate with people outside their communities.

“There are many other communities in deep rural areas in Underberg, Kokstad and the border between KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape that have been severely affected by the snow,” Duma said.

Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane has dispatched a team to join the provincial department's response efforts.

After all, it's also normal for Europe to get hotter weather in the summer, but the heatwaves in Europe were deemed newsworthy, even before the wildfires.