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  2. US mid-termsHeating up
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NewsbriefSouth Africa, briefly.
JoburgJHB29°16°CTCT30°17°PretoriaPTA31°17°DurbanDBN27°64%

Hot election day forecast with storms possible in Gauteng

Published

Ongoing: Elections Hot

Pretoria could reach 32°C and Johannesburg 30°C on Wednesday 4 November, local government election day, according to AccuWeather forecasts. Cape Town should reach 28°C and stay mostly dry.

AccuWeather forecasts a possible afternoon thunderstorm in Pretoria. Thunderstorms are possible in parts of Johannesburg too. The forecast gives a 55% probability of precipitation and a 33% chance of thunderstorms for both cities.

Forecast rainfall is 1.3mm in Pretoria and 2.2mm in Johannesburg. The maximum UV index is 13 in both cities, which is classed as extreme. Cape Town has a maximum UV index of 5, which is moderate.

Overnight lows are forecast at 20°C in Pretoria, 17°C in Johannesburg and 16°C in Cape Town.

Key facts

Who
AccuWeather (source of the weather forecasts)
When
3 November 2026
Where
Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town
Status
Reported

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Voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections is under way at 23,696 stations, and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) reported a smooth start on 4 November. Stations opened at 7am and close at 9pm, and by 10am preliminary figures showed 3,523,691 voters had cast ballots.

There were problems: unused ballot papers were stolen from Mnyameni Secondary School near Durban, police opened a case, and the IEC relieved the station staff of duty. Some voters in Tshwane said they were turned away for wearing party shirts, but the IEC denied this and said only mayoral candidates' entourages were barred.

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