Table 2 Climatic characteristics of the four regions (average over 50 years ± standard deviation)
Climatic variable | Western Cape (1) | Eastern Cape (2) | Free State, Gauteng, North West and Limpopo (3) | KwaZulu Natal (4) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of animals | 70,864 | 40,559 | 75,388 | 71,025 |
Rainfall (mm) | 554 ± 186 | 609 ± 107 | 613 ± 85 | 853 ± 103 |
Max temperature (°C) | 22.7 ± 0.9 | 23.0 ± 0.7 | 23.7 ± 1.2 | 23.0 ± 1.4 |
Min temperature (°C) | 11.1 ± 0.7 | 12.2 ± 1.7 | 8.4 ± 1.3 | 9.9 ± 1.8 |
Max relative humidity (%) | 88.0 ± 4.4 | 88.9 ± 2.5 | 88.9 ± 5.2 | 91.7 ± 2.9 |
Min relative humidity (%) | 47.2 ± 6.1 | 49.8 ± 6.3 | 38.7 ± 5.1 | 47.3 ± 5.2 |
Solar radiation (MJ m−2 day−1) | 16.3 ± 0.9 | 15.6 ± 1.5 | 19.3 ± 0.7 | 17.8 ± 1.2 |
Evapotranspiration (mm) | 3.3 ± 0.3 | 3.1 ± 0.3 | 3.8 ± 0.3 | 3.4 ± 0.3 |
Max temperature in summer (°C) | 26.3 ± 1.6 | 25.4 ± 1.1 | 27.4 ± 2.2 | 25.5 ± 1.6 |
Max humidity in summer (%) | 85.2 ± 6.0 | 91.6 ± 2.9 | 88.9 ± 7.0 | 94.5 ± 2.0 |
Max solar radiation in summer (MJ m−2 day−1) | 25.1 ± 1.6 | 24.5 ± 1.9 | 25.0 ± 1.8 | 25.9 ± 1.6 |