Climate averages 1991–2020
Polokwane weather
in December.
A warm, wet month: the 4th warmest and the wettest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a warm month in Polokwane: daytime highs average 26.4°C and nights cool to about 16.2°C. By daytime temperature it is the 4th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 131 mm of rain on roughly 16 days, which makes December a wet month (the wettest month of the year). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 13 h 35 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Mokopane (57 km away). In December its highs average 28.7°C, 2.3°C warmer than Polokwane, with 99 mm of rain.
Among the 95 cities listed in South Africa, Polokwane ranks joint 43rd of 95 for the warmest December highs and 66th of 95 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 95 cities is 26.6°C; Polokwane is 0.2°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs rise by 0.2°C to 26.7°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 131 mm to 116 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
Polokwane climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26.7°C16.6°C | 16.6°C | 116 | 13.7 | 13.413 h |
| February | 26.6°C16.5°C | 16.5°C | 88 | 10.2 | 12.913 h |
| March | 25.6°C15.4°C | 15.4°C | 74 | 9.5 | 12.212 h |
| April | 23.6°C13.0°C | 13.0°C | 39 | 5.4 | 11.612 h |
| May | 21.7°C10.2°C | 10.2°C | 11 | 2.5 | 11.011 h |
| June | 19.4°C7.5°C | 7.5°C | 4.2 | 0.9 | 10.711 h |
| July | 19.2°C6.9°C | 6.9°C | 3.2 | 0.7 | 10.811 h |
| August | 22.2°C8.9°C | 8.9°C | 3.8 | 0.9 | 11.311 h |
| September | 25.6°C11.7°C | 11.7°C | 13 | 2.6 | 11.912 h |
| October | 26.5°C13.5°C | 13.5°C | 46 | 8.0 | 12.613 h |
| November | 26.3°C15.0°C | 15.0°C | 98 | 13.5 | 13.313 h |
| December, selected | 26.4°C16.2°C | 16.2°C | 131 | 15.9 | 13.614 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
- Mokopane in DecemberSouth Africa · 57 kmHigh 28.7°C · Low 17.7°C · 99 mm rain
- Louis Trichardt in DecemberSouth Africa · 105 kmHigh 28.2°C · Low 18.4°C · 103 mm rain
- Thohoyandou in DecemberSouth Africa · 149 kmHigh 27.7°C · Low 18.5°C · 161 mm rain
- Bela Bela in DecemberSouth Africa · 162 kmHigh 28.7°C · Low 18.0°C · 114 mm rain
- Phalaborwa in DecemberSouth Africa · 170 kmHigh 30.7°C · Low 20.5°C · 93 mm rain
- Somaroboro in DecemberSouth Africa · 173 kmHigh 27.3°C · Low 16.4°C · 91 mm rain
- Hammanskraal in DecemberSouth Africa · 206 kmHigh 29.0°C · Low 17.9°C · 104 mm rain
- Middelburg in DecemberSouth Africa · 208 kmHigh 25.3°C · Low 15.1°C · 114 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 Polokwane) is explained once on the Polokwane year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.