South Africa
Weather locations in South Africa
Choose a location in South Africa to view its available forecast products.
South Africa illustrated weather map
90 mapped locations
Alexander BayBelfastBethalBethlehemBishoButterworthCalviniaCape St.FrancisCape TownCarolinaClanwilliamCofimvabaElliotErmeloEstcourtFauresmithFicksburgFrankfortFraserburgGoodhopeGraaff ReinetGrahamstownGraskopGreytownHermanusHoedspruitJamestownJohannesburgKathuKimberleyKlerksdorpKnysnaKoingnaasKroonstadKurumanLadysmithLaingsburgLephalaleLichtenburgLydenburgMalmesburyMaraMargateMarkenMaseruMatatieleNelspruitNewcastleNieuwoudtvilleOudtshoornPaarlPaddockPhalaborwaPietermaritzburgPilanesbergPolokwanePongolaPort EdwardPort ElizabethPort NollothPortervillePretoriaPrieskaQueenstownRiversdaleRobertsonRustenburgSkukuzaSpringbokSpringsStrandSutherlandTaungThabazimbiThohoyandouTshipiseTsitsikammaUitenhageUlundiUmtataUpingtonVentersdorpVereenigingVredendalVryburgVryheidWelkomWepenerWitbankWorcester Only locations with a verified coordinate are marked. The complete location list is below.
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Climate of South Africa
Country climate guideSouth Africa is the largest country on the African continent south of the Sahara, and its climate zones run roughly from the dry west to the wet east. Rainfall and temperature therefore change a great deal between the Mediterranean west and the subtropical east, with a high-altitude continental interior in between. The warm Agulhas current along the south coast and the Drakensberg range behind the east coast are the two features that sharpen the contrast.
Main climate types
Four broad groups cover the country. The Western Cape is Mediterranean: cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers, classified Csb and Csa. The plateau behind it is a highland version of the humid subtropical type, with warm summers and cold, dry winters. The north-east is tropical wet and dry, running into savanna, while the coastal belt from Durban south to Port Elizabeth is humid subtropical.
Temperatures
Cape Town averages about 13 °C in July and about 21 °C in January, with the wettest, windiest weather in winter. Johannesburg, at 1,750 metres, averages about 13 °C in July and 20 °C in January, and winter mornings in the interior sometimes fall below freezing. Durban, on the warm Agulhas coast, holds near 20 °C in July and 26 °C in January. The north-western desert, around Upington, has summer highs well above 35 °C and cold desert nights.
Rainfall
Totals run from under 100 mm in the Kalahari to more than 1,200 mm on the Drakensberg slopes and the eastern seaboard. Cape Town takes in about 600 mm, almost all between May and August. Johannesburg receives around 700 mm, with rainfall peaking in the southern summer, from November to March. Durban gets over 1,000 mm, with the wettest months in the same summer season. Snow is confined to the high Drakensberg.
When to go
For the Western Cape the best months are November to March, when the temperature is warm and the wind lower; the Cape's famed south-easterly arrives from January. Winter, from June to August, draws visitors to the Garden Route and the east for their dry, warm weather. The Kruger National Park and the northern provinces are pleasant between May and August and uncomfortably hot from November to February. Whale watching along the south coast runs July to November.