Gauteng residents can expect a pleasant start to the weekend, with sunny to partly cloudy skies forecast across the region on Friday and Saturday, according to the South African Weather Service.

Pretoria and Johannesburg are set for a mild, mostly sunny weekend before cooler and wetter conditions arrive early next week.

Pretoria is forecast to reach a high of 23°C on both days, with overnight lows of 10°C.

Johannesburg is expected to be slightly cooler, with highs of 21°C on Friday and Saturday and lows between 10°C and 11°C.

Sunday brings the warmest conditions of the weekend for Pretoria, with the weather service forecasting a high of 24°C and clear, sunny skies.

Johannesburg is also expected to stay slightly cooler at 21°C under sunny skies, with an overnight low of 10°C.

Wind speeds were forecast to remain light across the region over the weekend, with the weather service recording speeds of around 9.26km/h in Pretoria and a notably calmer 0.19 km/h in Johannesburg at the time the data was captured.

The pleasant weekend weather is not expected to last, with the weather service forecasting a shift towards rain and cooler temperatures from Monday.

Light rain is predicted across three areas on Monday, 10 August, with highs dropping slightly to 23°C in both Pretoria and 19°C in Johannesburg.

The cooling trend will continue into Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the forecast, with cloudy conditions and a further drop in temperatures expected.

Pretoria is forecast to peak at just 18°C on both days, with lows of 9°C, while Johannesburg is expected to be the coldest of the three areas, with highs of only 15°C and lows of 8°C.