Climate averages 1991–2020
Phuthaditjhaba weather
in December.
A warm, wet month: one of the 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 Phuthaditjhaba: daytime highs average 23.9°C and nights cool to about 12.8°C. By daytime temperature it is one of the warmest months of the year.
Expect about 168 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 13 h 55 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Bethlehem, South Africa (60 km away). In December its highs average 25.3°C, 1.4°C warmer than Phuthaditjhaba, with 147 mm of rain.
Among the 95 cities listed in South Africa, Phuthaditjhaba ranks 91st of 95 for the warmest December highs and 94th of 95 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 95 cities is 26.6°C; Phuthaditjhaba is 2.8°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs rise by 0.1°C to 23.9°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 168 mm to 177 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
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, selected | 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
December in nearby cities
- Bethlehem, South Africa in DecemberSouth Africa · 60 kmHigh 25.3°C · Low 13.5°C · 147 mm rain
- Ladysmith in DecemberSouth Africa · 94 kmHigh 27.9°C · Low 15.8°C · 179 mm rain
- Newcastle, South Africa in DecemberSouth Africa · 139 kmHigh 26.2°C · Low 15.0°C · 155 mm rain
- Dundee, South Africa in DecemberSouth Africa · 144 kmHigh 26.3°C · Low 15.1°C · 154 mm rain
- Maseru in DecemberLesotho · 157 kmHigh 26.3°C · Low 13.5°C · 142 mm rain
- Standerton in DecemberSouth Africa · 182 kmHigh 24.9°C · Low 14.0°C · 150 mm rain
- Kroonstad in DecemberSouth Africa · 183 kmHigh 28.4°C · Low 15.8°C · 104 mm rain
- Pietermaritzburg in DecemberSouth Africa · 196 kmHigh 25.8°C · Low 16.2°C · 129 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 Phuthaditjhaba) is explained once on the Phuthaditjhaba year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.