10th February 2010 06:13PM

In Chiefs country we may be experiencing hot and humid weather - but not quite to the level that our Chiefs are encountering in Durban this week.

Weather forecasts out of Durban predict temperatures to get as high as 33 degrees on Friday (SA time) - with the minimum daily temperature not dropping below 23 degrees all of this week.

Compare that to in the Chiefs region where maximum temperatures this week are around 23 degrees.

Cloudy conditions are expected on the day the Chiefs play the Sharks at Absa Stadium this weekend, with a maximum temperature of 27 degrees and a low of 23 degrees predicted.

The Round One Rebel Sport Super 14 game is played in the evening at 7.10pm local South African time.

Average weather for Durban in February shows that humidity levels are high with 80% humidity in the mornings through to 73% in the evenings.

The highest levels of humidity back in Chiefs country at this time of the year are found in Hamilton where average humidity is 76% in the mornings down to 70% in the evenings.

Chiefs coach Ian Foster said from South Africa this week that it seemed hotter than normal in Durban.

"First and foremost the key is to play well, particularly in the challenging conditions we are playing in with the heat and humidity here," Foster said.

"But clearly we want points and if you pick up a couple of wins away on these sorts of tours you have done very, very well."

Getting conditioned to playing in warmer conditions was behind the 3.00pm kick off time in Rotorua last Friday for the Chiefs preseason match against the Hurricanes. Over the past few weeks regular Chiefs training sessions were conducted in the heat of the day in Hamilton.