A cold front sweeping in from South Africa has brought freezing temperatures and frost to parts of southern Zimbabwe, the Meteorological Services Department (MSD) has forecast.
MSD head of forecasting, James Ngoma, stated that cold air moving in from the south began impacting Zimbabwe on Tuesday, leading to ground frost in southwestern regions such as Plumtree and Matobo.
“We started experiencing cold air from the south as of yesterday (Tuesday) where we had areas such as Plumtree and Matobo to the southwest experiencing ground frost.
“This was because of winds that came in from South Africa through Botswana into the south-western parts of the country, giving us that cold air,” he said.
Ngoma said the cold air moved into Zimbabwe via Botswana, affecting the south-western regions.
“As of this morning (Wednesday), the temperatures dropped a bit further, where Matobo recorded a negative (minus) four in terms of its ground mean,” he said.
Cold and windy conditions are expected to persist in the southern and southeastern provinces, including Masvingo, Matabeleland South, and Manicaland, through Thursday and Friday.
“In areas such as Masvingo, Matabeleland South, as well as Manica-land provinces, we are expecting cloudy conditions from Thursday (today) into Friday, giving us cold afternoon conditions over those southern parts of the country.”
The public is advised to keep warm and ensure proper ventilation when using fires indoors to stay warm.
“We advise the public to keep warm during the afternoons and also during the day, especially over those southern areas. To the north, we are expecting just brief cloudy periods here and there, with the cooling breeze from time and again.
“We urge the individuals in these areas that if they do consider lighting a fire, they should make sure that the room is well ventilated,” Ngoma said.
This follows days of heavy rain and snowfall across parts of South Africa since the weekend, brought on by a severe winter cold front that has disrupted transport and power infrastructure. In the Eastern Cape province, the death toll from the resulting floods has risen to 49.
