Climate averages 1991–2020
Cape Town weather
in October.
A mild, fairly dry month: the 7th warmest and the 6th driest of the year. Meets the pleasant-weather rule
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
October is a mild month in Cape Town: daytime highs average 20.4°C and nights cool to about 12.8°C. By daytime temperature it is the 7th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 33 mm of rain on roughly 6 days, which makes October a fairly dry month (the 6th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 12 h 55 min on an average October day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Atlantis (40 km away). In October its highs average 21.0°C, 0.7°C warmer than Cape Town, with 23 mm of rain.
Among the 95 cities listed in South Africa, Cape Town ranks 93rd of 95 for the warmest October highs and joint 5th of 95 for the driest October (rainfall, lowest first). The mean October high of those 95 cities is 25.4°C; Cape Town is 5.1°C cooler than that mean.
From October to November, average highs rise by 1.7°C to 22.1°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 33 mm to 30 mm.
The annual picture
October 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
Cape Town climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25.6°C17.5°C | 17.5°C | 15 | 2.8 | 14.114 h |
| February | 25.9°C17.7°C | 17.7°C | 14 | 3.0 | 13.313 h |
| March | 24.6°C16.5°C | 16.5°C | 16 | 3.3 | 12.312 h |
| April | 22.0°C14.2°C | 14.2°C | 43 | 5.2 | 11.311 h |
| May | 19.3°C12.1°C | 12.1°C | 67 | 8.4 | 10.410 h |
| June | 16.9°C10.0°C | 10.0°C | 108 | 11.1 | 9.910 h |
| July | 16.4°C9.3°C | 9.3°C | 98 | 9.9 | 10.110 h |
| August | 16.5°C9.5°C | 9.5°C | 87 | 10.3 | 10.911 h |
| September | 17.9°C10.8°C | 10.8°C | 51 | 8.2 | 11.912 h |
| October, selected | 20.4°C12.8°C | 12.8°C | 33 | 5.8 | 12.913 h |
| November | 22.1°C14.4°C | 14.4°C | 30 | 5.1 | 13.914 h |
| December | 24.3°C16.4°C | 16.4°C | 17 | 3.6 | 14.414 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
October in nearby cities
- Atlantis in OctoberSouth Africa · 40 kmHigh 21.0°C · Low 11.2°C · 23 mm rain
- Somerset West in OctoberSouth Africa · 41 kmHigh 21.5°C · Low 13.4°C · 45 mm rain
- Stellenbosch in OctoberSouth Africa · 41 kmHigh 22.0°C · Low 11.7°C · 45 mm rain
- Paarl in OctoberSouth Africa · 55 kmHigh 23.3°C · Low 11.6°C · 47 mm rain
- Worcester, South Africa in OctoberSouth Africa · 100 kmHigh 23.5°C · Low 11.9°C · 36 mm rain
- Mossel Bay in OctoberSouth Africa · 344 kmHigh 20.5°C · Low 13.2°C · 43 mm rain
- Oudtshoorn in OctoberSouth Africa · 351 kmHigh 24.5°C · Low 10.6°C · 41 mm rain
- George in OctoberSouth Africa · 373 kmHigh 19.4°C · Low 12.0°C · 62 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 Cape Town) is explained once on the Cape Town year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.