Climate averages 1991–2020
Pietermaritzburg weather
by month.
See how the year changes. February has the highest average daily maximum; June has the lowest average monthly rainfall.
Pleasant-weather months by our simple rule: MayJuneJulyAugust
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
Across the year Pietermaritzburg averages a daytime high of 24.0°C and a nighttime low of 12.7°C, with about 904 mm of rain on roughly 136 days. February is the warmest month (average high 26.6°C) and June (tied with July) the coolest (20.7°C). January is the wettest month with 134 mm; June is the driest with 20 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): May, June, July and August. This looks at temperature and rain only, not humidity, wind, sea temperature or crowds.
The annual picture
A year in Pietermaritzburg
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
Pietermaritzburg climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26.4°C17.3°C | 17.3°C | 134 | 18.0 | 13.814 h |
| February | 26.6°C17.6°C | 17.6°C | 113 | 15.0 | 13.113 h |
| March | 25.9°C16.4°C | 16.4°C | 96 | 14.3 | 12.312 h |
| April | 23.9°C13.6°C | 13.6°C | 58 | 9.7 | 11.411 h |
| May | 22.6°C10.1°C | 10.1°C | 29 | 5.1 | 10.711 h |
| June | 20.7°C6.9°C | 6.9°C | 20 | 3.4 | 10.310 h |
| July | 20.7°C6.5°C | 6.5°C | 28 | 3.8 | 10.410 h |
| August | 22.5°C8.7°C | 8.7°C | 32 | 5.9 | 11.111 h |
| September | 24.0°C11.2°C | 11.2°C | 56 | 9.5 | 11.912 h |
| October | 23.9°C13.0°C | 13.0°C | 92 | 15.4 | 12.813 h |
| November | 24.7°C14.5°C | 14.5°C | 116 | 17.2 | 13.614 h |
| December | 25.8°C16.2°C | 16.2°C | 129 | 19.2 | 14.014 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
- MpumalangaSouth Africa · 32 kmHigh 23.3°C · Low 12.6°C · 804 mm rain a year
- PinetownSouth Africa · 53 kmHigh 23.4°C · Low 15.4°C · 827 mm rain a year
- NtuzumaSouth Africa · 55 kmHigh 24.6°C · Low 16.0°C · 827 mm rain a year
- DurbanSouth Africa · 67 kmHigh 24.0°C · Low 18.1°C · 827 mm rain a year
- KwaDukuzaSouth Africa · 93 kmHigh 25.0°C · Low 17.2°C · 844 mm rain a year
- LadysmithSouth Africa · 132 kmHigh 24.7°C · Low 11.2°C · 1,024 mm rain a year
- Dundee, South AfricaSouth Africa · 162 kmHigh 23.5°C · Low 11.4°C · 908 mm rain a year
- Richards BaySouth Africa · 185 kmHigh 25.8°C · Low 19.0°C · 873 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 -29.60°, 30.40° (2 km from the city centre), adjusted up by 0.9°C for the difference between the city's elevation (636 m) and the cell's (776 m). Rain comes from the 0.25° cell at -29.50°, 30.50°. 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.