Climate averages 1991–2020
Upington weather
in December.
A very hot, fairly dry month: the joint 2nd warmest and the 9th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a very hot month in Upington: daytime highs average 34.7°C and nights cool to about 19.6°C. By daytime temperature it is the joint 2nd warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 27 mm of rain on roughly 4 days, which makes December a fairly dry month (the 9th 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 Kimberley (344 km away). In December its highs average 32.2°C, 2.5°C cooler than Upington, with 61 mm of rain.
Among the 95 cities listed in South Africa, Upington ranks 1st of 95 for the warmest December highs and 7th of 95 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 95 cities is 26.6°C; Upington is 8.0°C warmer than that mean.
From December to January, average highs rise by 0.5°C to 35.2°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 27 mm to 35 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
Upington climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35.2°C21.3°C | 21.3°C | 35 | 5.4 | 13.714 h |
| February | 34.7°C21.3°C | 21.3°C | 31 | 6.5 | 13.113 h |
| March | 32.5°C19.4°C | 19.4°C | 36 | 5.5 | 12.312 h |
| April | 27.8°C15.0°C | 15.0°C | 25 | 3.6 | 11.411 h |
| May | 24.1°C10.8°C | 10.8°C | 12 | 1.8 | 10.711 h |
| June | 20.2°C6.8°C | 6.8°C | 5.2 | 0.8 | 10.410 h |
| July | 20.1°C6.4°C | 6.4°C | 3.9 | 0.9 | 10.511 h |
| August | 22.8°C7.8°C | 7.8°C | 2.8 | 0.6 | 11.111 h |
| September | 27.2°C11.2°C | 11.2°C | 4.9 | 0.9 | 11.912 h |
| October | 30.5°C14.9°C | 14.9°C | 14 | 2.2 | 12.813 h |
| November | 32.5°C17.1°C | 17.1°C | 13 | 2.4 | 13.514 h |
| December, selected | 34.7°C19.6°C | 19.6°C | 27 | 3.8 | 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
- Kimberley in DecemberSouth Africa · 344 kmHigh 32.2°C · Low 17.3°C · 61 mm rain
- Schweizer-Reneke in DecemberSouth Africa · 424 kmHigh 30.4°C · Low 17.2°C · 77 mm rain
- Bloemfontein in DecemberSouth Africa · 489 kmHigh 29.9°C · Low 15.6°C · 76 mm rain
- Mafikeng in DecemberSouth Africa · 520 kmHigh 29.4°C · Low 17.3°C · 87 mm rain
- Odendaalsrus in DecemberSouth Africa · 537 kmHigh 29.3°C · Low 16.3°C · 94 mm rain
- Welkom in DecemberSouth Africa · 539 kmHigh 29.1°C · Low 16.0°C · 91 mm rain
- Bothaville in DecemberSouth Africa · 540 kmHigh 29.7°C · Low 16.7°C · 89 mm rain
- Botshabelo in DecemberSouth Africa · 540 kmHigh 28.7°C · Low 14.9°C · 88 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 Upington) is explained once on the Upington year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.