Climate averages 1991–2020
Polokwane weather
in May.
A mild, very dry month: the 10th warmest and the 4th driest of the year. Meets the pleasant-weather rule
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a mild month in Polokwane: daytime highs average 21.7°C and nights cool to about 10.2°C. By daytime temperature it is the 10th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 11 mm of rain on roughly 3 days, which makes May a very dry month (the 4th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 10 h 59 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Mokopane (57 km away). In May its highs average 23.5°C, 1.8°C warmer than Polokwane, with 8.6 mm of rain.
Among the 95 cities listed in South Africa, Polokwane ranks 30th of 95 for the warmest May highs and 4th of 95 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 95 cities is 21.0°C; Polokwane is 0.8°C warmer than that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 2.3°C to 19.4°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 11 mm to 4.2 mm.
The annual picture
May 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, selected | 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 | 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
May in nearby cities
- Mokopane in MaySouth Africa · 57 kmHigh 23.5°C · Low 11.2°C · 8.6 mm rain
- Louis Trichardt in MaySouth Africa · 105 kmHigh 23.7°C · Low 12.3°C · 10 mm rain
- Thohoyandou in MaySouth Africa · 149 kmHigh 23.7°C · Low 12.7°C · 24 mm rain
- Bela Bela in MaySouth Africa · 162 kmHigh 23.0°C · Low 10.0°C · 13 mm rain
- Phalaborwa in MaySouth Africa · 170 kmHigh 26.4°C · Low 14.3°C · 8.9 mm rain
- Somaroboro in MaySouth Africa · 173 kmHigh 21.5°C · Low 8.3°C · 13 mm rain
- Hammanskraal in MaySouth Africa · 206 kmHigh 23.1°C · Low 9.5°C · 15 mm rain
- Middelburg in MaySouth Africa · 208 kmHigh 20.3°C · Low 7.6°C · 15 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.