South Africa: Joburg’s August is the new September — spring has sprung

When is the first day of spring? 

Traditionally, “Spring Day” is celebrated on 1 September in South Africa, and that date made a certain amount of sense in the past. 

In Johannesburg at least – where I have been a resident for the most part since 1998 – spring usually erupted in mid or late August and September was indeed a springy month, with gradually rising temperatures which heralded the approach of summer in October.

Some people will also point to the equinox, which takes…