If you have been unable to check your weather forecasts this week, this might be a result of the recent hacker attack on The South African Weather Services (SAWS) on Sunday evening.

According to the weather services, its Information and Communication Technology (ITC) systems experienced a security breach by criminal elements which interrupted aspects of critical services including aviation and marine.

At the same time, its email system and website, which is the hub of critical weather information, have also been affected.

” – alternative ways of disseminating important information such as the weather forecasts have been put in place.” added the SAWS

According to the weather services, its ICT service providers have been on site since the attack not only to investigate the breach but also to explore both interim and long-term ways of restoring the collapsed systems and eventually services.

In the interim, the public has been advised to rely on the official SA Weather Services’ social media platforms for weather information. This as the SAWS is in the process of reporting the criminal act to relevant authorities.

🌦️Weather & severe weather alerts for today & tomorrow, 4 – 5 November 2024.#saws #weatheroutlook #southafricanweather pic.twitter.com/B9jzNUSBun

— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) November 4, 2024

In a statement, the services noted that the attack was the second in the space of two days after the initial attempt on the evening of Saturday failed.

READ MORE: South African telescope discovers a giant galaxy that’s 32 times bigger than Earth’s