Climate Go Back

South Africa is located in the southern hemisphere and the seasons are reversed as opposed to those in the northern hemisphere. South Africa’s climate generally ranges from Mediterranean in the south-west to temperate in the interior plateau, and subtropical in the northeast. Warm, sunny days and cool nights can mostly be found throughout the country. It usually rains during the summer months which are from November through to March but in the Cape Town area it rains during the winter months which are from June to August.

In response to the movement of the high pressure belt that circle in the globe between 25 degrees C and 30 degrees C south latitude, during the winter months and low-pressure systems that take place during the summer months, the temperature and rainfall patterns vary in throughout the country. During the winter months frost can be found in high altitude areas. – 6.1 degrees C is the coldest temperature that has been recorded in an area which is about 250 km northeast of Cape Town. In July 1994 snowfall occurred in the mountainous areas bordering Lesotho.

Summer
With the exception of Cape Town’s Mediterranean climate which has a winter rainfall, SA is known for its hot sunny weather with afternoon thunderstorms that disappear quickly.

Autumn/Fall
This time of the year has the best weather with very little rainfall over the whole country, warm but not too hot weather.

Winter
If you want to travel to South Africa during the winter season it’s a good idea to bring along some warm clothes. The higher-lying areas of the interior plateau are known to be dry, sunny and cold at nights during this season. While warm and sunny days with virtually no wind or rain can be expected in the Lowveld and KwaZulu coast regions. The Western Cape region always seems to have a mind of its own and gets most of its rain in winter, with quite a few days of cloudy weather. In between these rainy days are good weather days as well. Snow can be found on the Drakensberg and high mountains of the Cape.

Spring
A journey to Namaqualand in the Western and Northern Cape is a great way to enjoy spring because of the wealth of flowers in this region therefore the Cape provinces are the best places to spend your Spring season. Nowhere in South Africa is spring more extravagant!