Climate averages 1991–2020
Bethal weather
in December.
A warm, wet month: the joint 3rd warmest and the wettest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a warm month in Bethal: daytime highs average 24.1°C and nights cool to about 13.7°C. By daytime temperature it is the joint 3rd warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 145 mm of rain on roughly 18 days, which makes December a wet month (the wettest month of the year). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 13 h 46 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is eMbalenhle (41 km away). In December its highs average 24.9°C, 0.8°C warmer than Bethal, with 151 mm of rain.
Among the 95 cities listed in South Africa, Bethal ranks 89th of 95 for the warmest December highs and 82nd of 95 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 95 cities is 26.6°C; Bethal is 2.5°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 0.1°C to 24.1°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 145 mm to 132 mm.
The annual picture
December in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Bethal climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24.1°C14.1°C | 14.1°C | 132 | 16.2 | 13.614 h |
| February | 24.2°C14.0°C | 14.0°C | 94 | 12.6 | 13.013 h |
| March | 23.2°C12.6°C | 12.6°C | 90 | 10.8 | 12.312 h |
| April | 21.0°C9.6°C | 9.6°C | 42 | 6.5 | 11.511 h |
| May | 19.0°C5.9°C | 5.9°C | 15 | 2.7 | 10.811 h |
| June | 16.7°C2.8°C | 2.8°C | 6.5 | 0.9 | 10.511 h |
| July | 16.8°C2.4°C | 2.4°C | 5.9 | 0.8 | 10.611 h |
| August | 20.0°C5.2°C | 5.2°C | 12 | 2.4 | 11.211 h |
| September | 23.9°C8.9°C | 8.9°C | 23 | 3.7 | 11.912 h |
| October | 24.3°C11.0°C | 11.0°C | 91 | 12.0 | 12.713 h |
| November | 23.7°C12.3°C | 12.3°C | 112 | 15.0 | 13.413 h |
| December, selected | 24.1°C13.7°C | 13.7°C | 145 | 17.8 | 13.814 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
December in nearby cities
- eMbalenhle in DecemberSouth Africa · 41 kmHigh 24.9°C · Low 14.4°C · 151 mm rain
- Ermelo in DecemberSouth Africa · 52 kmHigh 23.3°C · Low 13.4°C · 163 mm rain
- Standerton in DecemberSouth Africa · 57 kmHigh 24.9°C · Low 14.0°C · 150 mm rain
- Emalahleni in DecemberSouth Africa · 69 kmHigh 24.6°C · Low 14.2°C · 123 mm rain
- Middelburg in DecemberSouth Africa · 76 kmHigh 25.3°C · Low 15.1°C · 114 mm rain
- Delmas in DecemberSouth Africa · 85 kmHigh 25.2°C · Low 14.6°C · 138 mm rain
- Nigel in DecemberSouth Africa · 98 kmHigh 25.3°C · Low 14.7°C · 147 mm rain
- Etwatwa in DecemberSouth Africa · 107 kmHigh 25.1°C · Low 14.7°C · 135 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Bethal) is explained once on the Bethal year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.