Climate averages 1991–2020
Grahamstown weather
in December.
A warm, moderately wet month: the 4th warmest and the 10th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a warm month in Grahamstown: daytime highs average 25.6°C and nights cool to about 14.8°C. By daytime temperature it is the 4th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 62 mm of rain on roughly 10 days, which makes December a moderately wet month (the 10th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 14 h 18 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Qonce (93 km away). In December its highs average 25.4°C, about as warm as Grahamstown, with 78 mm of rain.
Among the 95 cities listed in South Africa, Grahamstown ranks joint 52nd of 95 for the warmest December highs and 15th of 95 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 95 cities is 26.6°C; Grahamstown is 1.0°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs rise by 1.2°C to 26.8°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 62 mm to 63 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
Grahamstown climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26.8°C16.1°C | 16.1°C | 63 | 9.2 | 14.114 h |
| February | 27.0°C16.5°C | 16.5°C | 64 | 9.9 | 13.313 h |
| March | 25.9°C15.3°C | 15.3°C | 59 | 8.7 | 12.312 h |
| April | 23.6°C12.6°C | 12.6°C | 49 | 8.1 | 11.311 h |
| May | 21.9°C10.1°C | 10.1°C | 22 | 5.0 | 10.410 h |
| June | 19.6°C7.5°C | 7.5°C | 22 | 4.0 | 10.010 h |
| July | 19.6°C6.9°C | 6.9°C | 22 | 3.6 | 10.210 h |
| August | 20.3°C7.6°C | 7.6°C | 35 | 5.9 | 10.911 h |
| September | 21.9°C9.2°C | 9.2°C | 40 | 6.2 | 11.912 h |
| October | 22.5°C11.1°C | 11.1°C | 56 | 8.9 | 12.913 h |
| November | 23.7°C12.6°C | 12.6°C | 60 | 9.2 | 13.814 h |
| December, selected | 25.6°C14.8°C | 14.8°C | 62 | 9.8 | 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
- Qonce in DecemberSouth Africa · 93 kmHigh 25.4°C · Low 15.8°C · 78 mm rain
- Bhisho in DecemberSouth Africa · 99 kmHigh 25.0°C · Low 15.0°C · 114 mm rain
- Motherwell in DecemberSouth Africa · 103 kmHigh 24.7°C · Low 17.2°C · 45 mm rain
- Gqeberha in DecemberSouth Africa · 112 kmHigh 22.7°C · Low 18.2°C · 42 mm rain
- Kariega in DecemberSouth Africa · 116 kmHigh 25.4°C · Low 16.7°C · 45 mm rain
- Mdantsane in DecemberSouth Africa · 123 kmHigh 24.4°C · Low 16.9°C · 76 mm rain
- East London in DecemberSouth Africa · 132 kmHigh 24.5°C · Low 18.9°C · 83 mm rain
- Queenstown in DecemberSouth Africa · 160 kmHigh 27.7°C · Low 13.9°C · 91 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 Grahamstown) is explained once on the Grahamstown year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.