Climate averages 1991–2020
Bethlehem, South Africa weather
by month.
See how the year changes. January has the highest average daily maximum; July has the lowest average monthly rainfall.
Pleasant-weather months by our simple rule: AprilMaySeptember
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
Across the year Bethlehem, South Africa averages a daytime high of 21.6°C and a nighttime low of 8.8°C, with about 817 mm of rain on roughly 102 days. January is the warmest month (average high 25.5°C) and June the coolest (15.5°C). December is the wettest month with 147 mm; July is the driest with 7.6 mm.
Months with pleasant weather by a simple rule (average high between 18°C and 29°C, average low of at least 5°C and at most 8 rain days): April, May and September. This looks at temperature and rain only, not humidity, wind, sea temperature or crowds.
The annual picture
A year in Bethlehem
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
Bethlehem, South Africa climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25.5°C14.3°C | 14.3°C | 143 | 16.5 | 13.714 h |
| February | 25.0°C14.1°C | 14.1°C | 97 | 13.4 | 13.113 h |
| March | 23.6°C12.5°C | 12.5°C | 89 | 12.2 | 12.312 h |
| April | 20.9°C9.3°C | 9.3°C | 53 | 7.6 | 11.411 h |
| May | 18.2°C5.3°C | 5.3°C | 25 | 3.4 | 10.711 h |
| June | 15.5°C2.1°C | 2.1°C | 13 | 2.1 | 10.410 h |
| July | 15.6°C1.4°C | 1.4°C | 7.6 | 1.3 | 10.511 h |
| August | 18.7°C3.9°C | 3.9°C | 21 | 3.3 | 11.111 h |
| September | 22.8°C7.7°C | 7.7°C | 22 | 3.7 | 11.912 h |
| October | 24.0°C10.2°C | 10.2°C | 87 | 9.7 | 12.713 h |
| November | 24.5°C11.7°C | 11.7°C | 111 | 12.2 | 13.513 h |
| December | 25.3°C13.5°C | 13.5°C | 147 | 16.7 | 13.914 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
Nearby cities
- PhuthaditjhabaSouth Africa · 60 kmHigh 20.5°C · Low 8.0°C · 984 mm rain a year
- KroonstadSouth Africa · 124 kmHigh 24.2°C · Low 10.6°C · 594 mm rain a year
- VirginiaSouth Africa · 142 kmHigh 24.7°C · Low 11.0°C · 557 mm rain a year
- MaseruLesotho · 145 kmHigh 21.7°C · Low 7.8°C · 877 mm rain a year
- LadysmithSouth Africa · 149 kmHigh 24.7°C · Low 11.2°C · 1,024 mm rain a year
- WelkomSouth Africa · 157 kmHigh 24.4°C · Low 10.5°C · 557 mm rain a year
- KutloanongSouth Africa · 159 kmHigh 24.8°C · Low 10.8°C · 562 mm rain a year
- OdendaalsrusSouth Africa · 164 kmHigh 24.7°C · Low 10.8°C · 562 mm rain a year
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 limitsWhat do the high and low temperatures mean?
We average the daily maximum and daily minimum for each calendar month over 1991–2020. They are not record extremes, a forecast range or temperatures at a fixed time of day.
How is a rain day counted?
A local calendar day (standard time, UTC+2, no daylight saving) with at least 1 mm of total precipitation counts as one rain day. We count these for each year and month, then average across 30 years. The average does not predict which days will be wet.
Where do the numbers come from?
ERA5-Land (temperature) and ERA5 (precipitation) reanalysis from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, read from the Open-Meteo open-data archive. Temperature comes from the 0.1° model cell at -28.20°, 28.30° (4 km from the city centre), adjusted up by 0.4°C for the difference between the city's elevation (1,630 m) and the cell's (1,685 m). Rain comes from the 0.25° cell at -28.25°, 28.25°. These are model estimates, not weather-station readings; coast, hills and city streets can differ.
Does this page show sunshine, humidity or sea temperature?
No. The data used here contain air temperature and precipitation only. Daylight hours are calculated from the city's latitude (sunrise to sunset), not measured sunshine.