Climate averages 1991–2020
Phuthaditjhaba weather
by month.
See how the year changes. January (tied with December) has the highest average daily maximum; July has the lowest average monthly rainfall.
Pleasant-weather months by our simple rule: AprilSeptember
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
Across the year Phuthaditjhaba averages a daytime high of 20.5°C and a nighttime low of 8.0°C, with about 984 mm of rain on roughly 117 days. January (tied with December) is the warmest month (average high 23.9°C) and June (tied with July) the coolest (15.1°C). January is the wettest month with 177 mm; July is the driest with 11 mm.
Months with pleasant weather by a simple rule (average high between 18°C and 29°C, average low of at least 5°C and at most 8 rain days): April and September. This looks at temperature and rain only, not humidity, wind, sea temperature or crowds.
The annual picture
A year in Phuthaditjhaba
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
Phuthaditjhaba climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23.9°C13.7°C | 13.7°C | 177 | 19.0 | 13.714 h |
| February | 23.6°C13.6°C | 13.6°C | 135 | 15.3 | 13.113 h |
| March | 22.4°C11.8°C | 11.8°C | 100 | 13.8 | 12.312 h |
| April | 19.9°C8.5°C | 8.5°C | 53 | 7.8 | 11.411 h |
| May | 17.6°C4.3°C | 4.3°C | 25 | 3.4 | 10.711 h |
| June | 15.1°C1.1°C | 1.1°C | 13 | 1.9 | 10.410 h |
| July | 15.1°C0.6°C | 0.6°C | 11 | 1.9 | 10.511 h |
| August | 17.9°C3.1°C | 3.1°C | 29 | 4.2 | 11.111 h |
| September | 21.6°C6.8°C | 6.8°C | 32 | 4.5 | 11.912 h |
| October | 22.5°C9.4°C | 9.4°C | 106 | 12.5 | 12.813 h |
| November | 23.1°C10.9°C | 10.9°C | 135 | 14.3 | 13.514 h |
| December | 23.9°C12.8°C | 12.8°C | 168 | 18.9 | 13.914 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
Nearby cities
- Bethlehem, South AfricaSouth Africa · 60 kmHigh 21.6°C · Low 8.8°C · 817 mm rain a year
- LadysmithSouth Africa · 94 kmHigh 24.7°C · Low 11.2°C · 1,024 mm rain a year
- Newcastle, South AfricaSouth Africa · 139 kmHigh 23.3°C · Low 10.7°C · 858 mm rain a year
- Dundee, South AfricaSouth Africa · 144 kmHigh 23.5°C · Low 11.4°C · 908 mm rain a year
- MaseruLesotho · 157 kmHigh 21.7°C · Low 7.8°C · 877 mm rain a year
- StandertonSouth Africa · 182 kmHigh 22.3°C · Low 9.5°C · 756 mm rain a year
- KroonstadSouth Africa · 183 kmHigh 24.2°C · Low 10.6°C · 594 mm rain a year
- PietermaritzburgSouth Africa · 196 kmHigh 24.0°C · Low 12.7°C · 904 mm rain a year
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 limitsWhat do the high and low temperatures mean?
We average the daily maximum and daily minimum for each calendar month over 1991–2020. They are not record extremes, a forecast range or temperatures at a fixed time of day.
How is a rain day counted?
A local calendar day (standard time, UTC+2, no daylight saving) with at least 1 mm of total precipitation counts as one rain day. We count these for each year and month, then average across 30 years. The average does not predict which days will be wet.
Where do the numbers come from?
ERA5-Land (temperature) and ERA5 (precipitation) reanalysis from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, read from the Open-Meteo open-data archive. Temperature comes from the 0.1° model cell at -28.50°, 28.80° (3 km from the city centre), adjusted up by 0.6°C for the difference between the city's elevation (1,671 m) and the cell's (1,766 m). Rain comes from the 0.25° cell at -28.50°, 28.75°. These are model estimates, not weather-station readings; coast, hills and city streets can differ.
Does this page show sunshine, humidity or sea temperature?
No. The data used here contain air temperature and precipitation only. Daylight hours are calculated from the city's latitude (sunrise to sunset), not measured sunshine.