As El Niño takes hold, most of South Africa is still expected to be wetter and warmer for the remainder of the winter and into spring - with a couple of exceptions. This is according to the latest monthly Seasonal Climate Watch by the South African Weather Service which looks five months ahead.

The winter of 2023 will remain wet and warm for most of South Africa, which is good news as El Niño - which typically brings drought to this region - sets in. Winter grain crops such as wheat should benefit from this state of affairs while dam and ground moisture levels around the country will need all the rain they can get in advance if this El Niño turns out to be a scorcher.

"The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is currently transitioning into warm El Niño-like conditions and is moving into an El Niño state which according to the latest predictions is expected to persist through most of the summer months," the Weather Service said in its latest monthly Seasonal Climate Watch.

ENSO is a recurring pattern triggered by changes in ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean that impacts the global climate. A prolonged La Niña phase, a cooling of such waters which brought good rains and bumper crops to much of South Africa the past three to four years, has ended. And after a brief "neutral" period those waters are heating up again, heralding El Niño.

"It is still too early to indicate whether this...