JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's recent weather patterns are not normal and point to climate change.
This is the view of climatologist Guy Midgley as severe weather patterns continue to grip various provinces across the country.
The Western Cape and KZN are battling extreme heat, while Limpopo faces devastating floods.
In Gauteng, unstable weather has brought warm, partly cloudy days with scattered showers and thunderstorms.
READ | Schools in north-east Limpopo remain closed after heavy rains
Midgley said the climate has changed a lot compared to 30 years ago.
“There's no climate event that is usual anymore… We've added so much heat into the oceans and into the atmosphere. We're in a novel sort of climate system, and we have to learn how to deal with it and adjust how we do our weather predictions,” Midgley said.
He also explained how strong winds, especially in the Western Cape, have changed drastically.
As a result, this is causing several implications, including exporting fruit from Cape Town Harbour.
This is because wind gets in the way of getting that done because of the cranes.
Midgley also shed light on the recent high temperatures and extreme rainfall events
“We are in a time, a climate time, where things are quite unusual, and it's combined with the La Niña conditions, which has been a bit juiced up by all these things,” he added.