Climate averages 1991–2020
East London weather
in May.
A warm, fairly dry month: the 7th warmest and one of the driest of the year. Meets the pleasant-weather rule
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a warm month in East London: daytime highs average 22.9°C and nights cool to about 15.8°C. By daytime temperature it is the 7th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 34 mm of rain on roughly 6 days, which makes May a fairly dry month (one of the driest months of the year). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 10 h 27 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Mdantsane (16 km away). In May its highs average 22.4°C, 0.5°C cooler than East London, with 25 mm of rain.
Among the 95 cities listed in South Africa, East London ranks 13th of 95 for the warmest May highs and 81st of 95 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 95 cities is 21.0°C; East London is 1.9°C warmer than that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 1.4°C to 21.5°C, and monthly rainfall stays at 34 mm.
The annual picture
May 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, selected | 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 | 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
May in nearby cities
- Mdantsane in MaySouth Africa · 16 kmHigh 22.4°C · Low 12.9°C · 25 mm rain
- Bhisho in MaySouth Africa · 48 kmHigh 21.8°C · Low 9.9°C · 28 mm rain
- Qonce in MaySouth Africa · 51 kmHigh 22.5°C · Low 10.6°C · 23 mm rain
- Grahamstown in MaySouth Africa · 132 kmHigh 21.9°C · Low 10.1°C · 22 mm rain
- Queenstown in MaySouth Africa · 158 kmHigh 20.6°C · Low 6.9°C · 14 mm rain
- Mthatha in MaySouth Africa · 179 kmHigh 21.6°C · Low 10.6°C · 27 mm rain
- Motherwell in MaySouth Africa · 233 kmHigh 22.3°C · Low 12.6°C · 23 mm rain
- Gqeberha in MaySouth Africa · 238 kmHigh 20.8°C · Low 14.8°C · 38 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.