We’ve all felt it. The hard gusts of wind that sweep throughout the city, marring our summer. The strong gusts of the so-called Cape Doctor have been blowing non-stop for at least a week, with a brief respite expected only on Sunday.

The relentless wind makes simple tasks like walking, wearing summer clothes and talking outdoors very difficult. Even driving in certain areas becomes terrifying, as the wind pushes against your car. Perhaps the worst quality of the wind however, is its role in spreading fires, man of which have devastated the Cape Peninsula. Just this week, we watched as fire fighters dealt with the Devil’s Peak Fire. So it’s no wonder people are complaining about the wind.

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Even Capetonians, who know all about the wind, are tired of it.  No matter how much we wish it would stop blowing, the wind is not going anywhere. In fact it is going to be around for the rest of the summer, albeit not as strong as it has been of late. January and February are traditionally windy months, with things seeming to die down a bit in March, just in time for the rain and cold when winter sets in around May.

But rather that look at the negatives, here are the positives of Cape Town’s current wind situation. There is a reason the wind is dubbed the Cape Doctor. It actually keeps the city healthy, by blowing all the smog and pollution away, and making the air cleaner for us to breathe. On days when there is no wind, you also feel how incredibly hot it gets in Cape Town. The wind also acts like a natural fan, helping us cope (especially in the CBD).

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The Cape Doctor is also responsible for the famous table cloth on Table Mountain, making for wonderful photo-ops and showing the world why our mountain is one of the New7Natural Wonders of the World.

And if nothing else, the wind provides us with a good laugh. Like in this 2012 video of people struggling to stay upright near the Cape Town Civic Centre:



Photography courtesy Jurg Slabbert and Gershon Isaacs

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