JOHANNESBURG - It is the festive season and there has been such unpredictable weather.
This can be a recipe for disaster when it comes to pools and beaches.
The National Sea Rescue Institute says lifeguards have rescued hundreds of people from possible drowning since the beginning of December.
"Only swim when and where lifeguards are on duty. The lifeguards have literally, since the beginning of December, intervened in cases where people, before getting into difficulty but were heading in that direction of getting into difficulty," said NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon.
"The lifeguards have been involved in hundreds of rescue operations where people have ventured out of the safety zones that lifeguard'sards post."
The NSRI is appealing to South Africans to be cautious when going to beaches and swimming.