Overview
- On Friday, 21 August 2026 the South African Weather Service issued extremely high fire‑danger warnings for parts of the Northern Cape, southern Free State and northern Eastern Cape and for the Enoch Mgijima, Emalahleni, Senqu and Kagisano‑Molopo municipalities.
- Most of the interior is forecast to be fine and warm with morning fog clearing, a pattern that leaves vegetation dry and more prone to ignition under intense sunlight.
- Forecasts also show elevated UVB levels that increase sunburn risk, and city temperatures include Durban 18–25°C, Bloemfontein 6–28°C and Mahikeng 11–29°C.
- Vox Weather and SAWS cautioned that a likely windy afternoon could worsen fire behaviour by spreading flames more quickly and making containment harder.
- Because SAWS is the national authority, these warnings widen the area authorities and residents must watch, so people in the named districts should avoid open fires, follow local instructions, and expect further updates from the weather service.