GENERAL CLIMATE SOUTH AFRICA

Cape Town is often referred to as the gentle gateway into African as it’s not a typically African city in many ways and this includes its climate. The Cape is the only part of Southern Africa that falls within a temperate zone and therefore it enjoys a MEDITERRANEAN climate of LONG HOT SUMMERS and COOL WET WINTERS.

Daily weather conditions are also affected by the mountains and Cape Town is famous for its ‘four seasons in one day’ weather patterns which can vary significantly on opposite sides of the mountains, sunshine on one side, rain the other. But for the most part the Cape experiences a pleasant moderate climate however it has earned its nickname “CAPE OF STORMS” for good reason. And summer can be very windy!

The ret of South Africa meanwhile falls into the opposite weather pattern with WET HOT SUMMERS and DRY WINTERS, Spring (Sept -Nov) tends to be transitional throughout South Africa, either very hot and dry or wet and cool. Autumn tends to have the most pleasant weather everywhere.

The advantage of having a split climate is no matter when you visit South Africa, it will always be dry season somewhere and the changing weather conditions are ideal as they can create interesting skies, landscapes and moods.

Weather Cape Town, South Africa

Month	Average Sunny (Days a month)	Temperature				Discomfort from heat and humidity	Relative humidity		Average Precipitation (mm)	Wet Days (+0.25 mm)
		Average		Record			Relative humidity
		Min	Max	Min	Max		Am	Pm
JAN	27	16	26	7	37	Moderate	72	54	15	3
FEB	26	16	26	5	38	Moderate	77	54	8	2
MARCH	27	14	25	6	39	Moderate	85	57	18	3
April	24	12	22	3	39	–	90	60	48	6
May	22	9	19	-1	35	–	91	65	79	9
June	21	8	18	-2	29	–	91	64	84	9
July	19	7	17	-2	29	–	91	67	89	11
Aug	21	8	18	-1	32	–	90	65	66	9
Sept	23	9	18	1	34	–	87	62	43	7
Oct	25	11	21	1	32	–	79	58	31	5
Nov	27	13	23	4	34	–	74	56	18	3
Dec	27	14	24	5	38	Moderate	71	54	10	3

This bar chart shows average annual weather conditions covering rain, humidity and maximum and minimum daily temperatures.

PLEASE SEE OUR BEST TIME TO VISIT PAGE FOR MORE DETAILED INFO

ANNUAL SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES CAPE TOWN (www.timeanddate.com)

Months	SUNRISE BEGIN – END	SUNSET BEGIN – END	FULL MOON 2021
JANUARY	05:39 – 06:07	20:01 – 19:52	28
FEBRUARY	06:08 – 06:33	19:51 – 19:24	27
MARCH	06:34 – 06:58	19:23 – 18:43	28
APRIL	06:58 – 07:20	18:41 – 18:06	27
MAY	07:21 – 07:42	18:05 – 17:45	26
JUNE	07:43 – 07:52	17:45 – 17:48	24
JULY	07:52 – 07:40	17:48 – 18:06	24
AUGUST	07:39 – 07:06	18:07 – 18:27	22
SEPTEMBER	07:05 – 06:25	18:28 – 18:48	21
OCTOBER	06:24 – 05:47	18:49 – 19:13	20
NOVEMBER	05:46 – 05:28	19:14 – 19:41	19
DECEMBER	05:28 – 05:38	19:42 – 20:00	19

Dawn and Dusk are approximately half an hour earlier and later than sunrise/set times.
South Africa does not have daylight savings time, in the east (Kruger region), the sun rises about an hour early, and sets an hour later