Climate averages 1991–2020
Pietermaritzburg weather
in October.
A warm, wet month: the joint 7th warmest and the 7th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
October is a warm month in Pietermaritzburg: daytime highs average 23.9°C and nights cool to about 13.0°C. By daytime temperature it is the joint 7th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 92 mm of rain on roughly 15 days, which makes October a wet month (the 7th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 12 h 47 min on an average October day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Mpumalanga (32 km away). In October its highs average 22.6°C, 1.3°C cooler than Pietermaritzburg, with 88 mm of rain.
Among the 95 cities listed in South Africa, Pietermaritzburg ranks 71st of 95 for the warmest October highs and joint 87th of 95 for the driest October (rainfall, lowest first). The mean October high of those 95 cities is 25.4°C; Pietermaritzburg is 1.5°C cooler than that mean.
From October to November, average highs rise by 0.7°C to 24.7°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 92 mm to 116 mm.
The annual picture
October 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
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, selected | 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
October in nearby cities
- Mpumalanga in OctoberSouth Africa · 32 kmHigh 22.6°C · Low 12.8°C · 88 mm rain
- Pinetown in OctoberSouth Africa · 53 kmHigh 22.4°C · Low 15.2°C · 89 mm rain
- Ntuzuma in OctoberSouth Africa · 55 kmHigh 23.7°C · Low 15.9°C · 89 mm rain
- Durban in OctoberSouth Africa · 67 kmHigh 22.9°C · Low 17.5°C · 89 mm rain
- KwaDukuza in OctoberSouth Africa · 93 kmHigh 24.2°C · Low 16.8°C · 87 mm rain
- Ladysmith in OctoberSouth Africa · 132 kmHigh 26.3°C · Low 12.4°C · 100 mm rain
- Dundee, South Africa in OctoberSouth Africa · 162 kmHigh 25.0°C · Low 12.0°C · 92 mm rain
- Richards Bay in OctoberSouth Africa · 185 kmHigh 25.0°C · Low 18.4°C · 79 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 Pietermaritzburg) is explained once on the Pietermaritzburg year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.