While North Africans are sweltering in the mid-summer sun, many South Africans woke up to snow yesterday. Johannesburg got a rare sprinkling of white stuff, and from all accounts it was very much enjoyed. The Eastern Cape province (in this picture) gets a good dusting of snow every winter, but Jozi residents don't get to see "white rain" too often.
The question "Does it snow in Africa?" crops up from time to time. The answer is of course "yes" but not a lot and generally at higher altitudes. Lesotho gets a fair amount of snow every winter (June - August), enough to play host to a couple of ski slopes. The regular snow fall is because Lesotho is very mountainous, in fact it has the highest low point of any country in the world.
If you are planning to go on safari in South Africa during the winter months (June - August) be prepared for some chilly mornings and evenings. Frost is common and safari jackets won't keep you warm enough. The misconception that Africa is always hot cannot be further from the truth.
Read more: Does it Snow in Africa l The Weather in Africa
Anouk it wasn’t just a dusting and closed roads in Lesotho. This time passes between Joburg and Durban were closed, lorries and cars were snowed in and people had to be rescued not far from Joburg. My editing group reported snow from all over the Reef, some of it lying quite thickly. Now Cape Town is icey with cold fronts chasing each other up from the Antarctic though we don’t get frost, and snow lands only on the mountain tops. Lesotho skiing has been good this year.