Climate averages 1991–2020
East London weather
in December.
A warm, moderately wet month: the 4th warmest and the 8th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a warm month in East London: daytime highs average 24.5°C and nights cool to about 18.9°C. By daytime temperature it is the 4th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 83 mm of rain on roughly 13 days, which makes December a moderately wet month (the 8th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 14 h 17 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Mdantsane (16 km away). In December its highs average 24.4°C, about as warm as East London, with 76 mm of rain.
Among the 95 cities listed in South Africa, East London ranks 84th of 95 for the warmest December highs and 20th of 95 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 95 cities is 26.6°C; East London is 2.2°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs rise by 1.2°C to 25.7°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 83 mm to 81 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
East London climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25.7°C20.1°C | 20.1°C | 81 | 11.6 | 14.114 h |
| February | 26.1°C20.6°C | 20.6°C | 84 | 10.9 | 13.313 h |
| March | 25.3°C19.7°C | 19.7°C | 90 | 12.1 | 12.312 h |
| April | 23.7°C17.6°C | 17.6°C | 85 | 9.6 | 11.311 h |
| May | 22.9°C15.8°C | 15.8°C | 34 | 5.7 | 10.410 h |
| June | 21.5°C13.7°C | 13.7°C | 34 | 4.5 | 10.010 h |
| July | 21.3°C13.0°C | 13.0°C | 38 | 5.1 | 10.210 h |
| August | 21.1°C13.3°C | 13.3°C | 47 | 6.9 | 10.911 h |
| September | 21.6°C14.3°C | 14.3°C | 57 | 7.6 | 11.912 h |
| October | 21.9°C15.7°C | 15.7°C | 77 | 11.3 | 12.913 h |
| November | 23.0°C17.0°C | 17.0°C | 84 | 11.6 | 13.814 h |
| December, selected | 24.5°C18.9°C | 18.9°C | 83 | 12.5 | 14.314 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
- Mdantsane in DecemberSouth Africa · 16 kmHigh 24.4°C · Low 16.9°C · 76 mm rain
- Bhisho in DecemberSouth Africa · 48 kmHigh 25.0°C · Low 15.0°C · 114 mm rain
- Qonce in DecemberSouth Africa · 51 kmHigh 25.4°C · Low 15.8°C · 78 mm rain
- Grahamstown in DecemberSouth Africa · 132 kmHigh 25.6°C · Low 14.8°C · 62 mm rain
- Queenstown in DecemberSouth Africa · 158 kmHigh 27.7°C · Low 13.9°C · 91 mm rain
- Mthatha in DecemberSouth Africa · 179 kmHigh 24.0°C · Low 14.9°C · 140 mm rain
- Motherwell in DecemberSouth Africa · 233 kmHigh 24.7°C · Low 17.2°C · 45 mm rain
- Gqeberha in DecemberSouth Africa · 238 kmHigh 22.7°C · Low 18.2°C · 42 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 East London) is explained once on the East London year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.