Climate averages 1991–2020
Mthatha weather
in December.
A warm, wet month: the 4th warmest and the 11th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a warm month in Mthatha: daytime highs average 24.0°C and nights cool to about 14.9°C. By daytime temperature it is the 4th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 140 mm of rain on roughly 19 days, which makes December a wet month (the 11th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 14 h 10 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Mdantsane (177 km away). In December its highs average 24.4°C, about as warm as Mthatha, with 76 mm of rain.
Among the 95 cities listed in South Africa, Mthatha ranks 90th of 95 for the warmest December highs and joint 76th of 95 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 95 cities is 26.6°C; Mthatha is 2.7°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs rise by 1.0°C to 24.9°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 140 mm to 145 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
Mthatha climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24.9°C16.2°C | 16.2°C | 145 | 18.7 | 13.914 h |
| February | 25.2°C16.7°C | 16.7°C | 131 | 16.0 | 13.213 h |
| March | 24.4°C15.6°C | 15.6°C | 120 | 16.1 | 12.312 h |
| April | 22.7°C13.1°C | 13.1°C | 76 | 9.8 | 11.311 h |
| May | 21.6°C10.6°C | 10.6°C | 27 | 5.0 | 10.511 h |
| June | 19.8°C7.6°C | 7.6°C | 24 | 3.3 | 10.110 h |
| July | 20.0°C7.2°C | 7.2°C | 22 | 3.2 | 10.310 h |
| August | 21.2°C8.6°C | 8.6°C | 32 | 5.5 | 11.011 h |
| September | 22.4°C10.2°C | 10.2°C | 56 | 8.4 | 11.912 h |
| October | 22.2°C11.7°C | 11.7°C | 96 | 14.9 | 12.813 h |
| November | 22.9°C13.1°C | 13.1°C | 129 | 16.4 | 13.714 h |
| December, selected | 24.0°C14.9°C | 14.9°C | 140 | 18.5 | 14.214 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 · 177 kmHigh 24.4°C · Low 16.9°C · 76 mm rain
- East London in DecemberSouth Africa · 179 kmHigh 24.5°C · Low 18.9°C · 83 mm rain
- Queenstown in DecemberSouth Africa · 184 kmHigh 27.7°C · Low 13.9°C · 91 mm rain
- Bhisho in DecemberSouth Africa · 188 kmHigh 25.0°C · Low 15.0°C · 114 mm rain
- Qonce in DecemberSouth Africa · 194 kmHigh 25.4°C · Low 15.8°C · 78 mm rain
- Mpumalanga in DecemberSouth Africa · 265 kmHigh 24.7°C · Low 16.0°C · 102 mm rain
- Pietermaritzburg in DecemberSouth Africa · 268 kmHigh 25.8°C · Low 16.2°C · 129 mm rain
- Pinetown in DecemberSouth Africa · 281 kmHigh 24.9°C · Low 18.5°C · 94 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 Mthatha) is explained once on the Mthatha year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.