Namibia Sets All-Time Record Cold; Rare Snow Sweeps Large Parts Of Southern Africa; Mount Kenya Sees Unusual June Snow; Avalanche Deaths On Swiss Glaciers; + The Missing Piece: Clouds?

Namibia Sets All-Time Record Cold

Windhoek, Namibia registered -7.9C (17.8F) this week, the coldest temperature ever recorded in the city—and one of the coldest reliably measured temperatures in the country’s history (a few remote alpine peaks have been mapped as colder).

The reading shatters the previous all-time low of -3C (26.6F) set in June 2011, and even beat August’s record of -3.9C (25F), considered the coldest month.

The city’s climate, classified as semi-arid, typically sees sharp day-night swings, but this plunge was extreme—around 15C (27F) below average. A powerful high-pressure system parked over southern Africa created the perfect setup: clear skies, calm winds, and intense nighttime radiative cooling.

And the cold didn’t stop at the Namibian border. In western Botswana, Ncojane recorded -5.1C (22.8F), another extreme low for a region where June nights typically stay above 4C (39F).

This frost event is rare and damaging. Neither crops nor infrastructure in these regions are built for sub-zero nights. Severe and widespread frost damage is likely.

As media narratives push warming dogma, Africa’s sunniest cities are freezing harder than ever before.

Rare Snow Sweeps Large Parts Of Southern Africa

Just as Windhoek froze to −7.9C (17.8F), a sweeping cold front delivered rare snow across large parts of southern Africa, from Namibia, down through South Africa and Lesotho—blanketing roofs, closing roads, and catching entire provinces off guard.

Lesotho was hit hardest, with the Lesotho Tribune calling it the largest snow event in recent memory.