As scorching temperatures grip parts of Mpumalanga, residents are struggling to cope with the extreme heat amid severe water shortages. Some residents say the municipal water supply is so unreliable that they receive water only once a month. When it does come, it is often dirty.
Residents say the situation is becoming increasingly unbearable as they are forced to travel long distances to collect water, sometimes risking their lives by crossing the busy R573 road.
They say surviving the extreme heat without reliable access to clean water has become a daily struggle.
“Every day, the kids come back from school and there is no water. We don’t know what to do. The Health Department says we must drink water, but how can we when we don’t have water every day?” says one resident.
Mpumalanga weather for tomorrow, 12 November 2026.
#saws #weatheroutlook #spring #heatwave https://t.co/OF8QrSUWD9— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) November 11, 2026
-Report by Nonhlanhla Ntshingila