Cape Town - With wet, rainy weather expected today, road users have been urged to stay vigilant as the school holidays are also in full swing.

The provincial Department of Mobility said between June 2 and 9, there were 19 crashes reported on Western Cape roads.

“While we haul out our winter wardrobe and heat up our homes to combat inclement weather, we seldom take the time to prepare our vehicles and take precautions for overall safety on our roads.

“With the start of school holidays, the Western Cape Government urges all road users to heed the advice on vehicle, pedestrian and cyclist safety during winter.

“When planning journeys over short or long distances during winter, motorists are particularly encouraged to check the condition of wiper blades, tyres, lights and the weather before taking to the road,” the department said.

Meanwhile, the fast-rising threat of excessive cold and heat over Cape Town shouldn’t cause alarm, according to a climate change expert.

This comes as deputy mayor Eddie Andrews, along with delegates from the World Bank’s City Resilience Programme, National Treasury’s Cities Support Programme and City officials, met to discuss urgent interventions required in tackling the emerging challenge of extreme heat, particularly during the summer months – especially considering the impact on vulnerable communities.

According to a Cape Town Heat Mapping conducted on a hot day, February 28, the highest ambient temperature of 41.6ºC was recorded in Woodstock.

Andrews said the climate change projections for Cape Town are that average temperatures, high heat days, and heat waves are set to increase in length, frequency, and intensity.

“On a household level, how the high temperatures are experienced in low-income areas and areas of informality is typically very different from the middle to high-income areas, where there is generally more vegetation and resources to respond to heat.

“Areas like the Cape Town CBD, with great densification and a lot of concrete, of course, also see high temperatures.

“While the focus of this particular exercise was on measuring heat in the public realm, it also laid the foundation for deeper engagements on heat risk and interventions, especially within structures, where risk and vulnerability are even more stark,” said Andrews.

Climate expert at Stellenbosch University, Professor Guy Midgley, said there were many solutions to the problem.

“There is no need to panic; there are many solutions available to adapt to the effects, but it is essential that a low-carbon economy be developed as rapidly as is feasible to avoid damaging impacts.

“Government and in particular local governments play an important role in ensuring risks associated with climate change are reduced via planning, implementation, building standards, and early warning,” Midgley said.

Andrews said to address significant risk, the City’s High Heat Day and Heat Wave Action Plan was approved in November last year.

“The City is leading in these plans and preparations.

“The development of a High Heat Day and Heatwave Action Plan for Cape Town is a direct deliverable action in the city’s Climate Change Action Plan and Resilience Strategy,” said Andrews.

zolani.sinxo@inl.co.za

Cape Argus