Mbabane climate

Name: Mbabane
Address: SZ

Mbabane is warmest in December, with average highs of 24 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 6.5 °C. January is the wettest month (211 mm) and June the driest (18 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Mbabane averages 1,264 mm of rain, 101 days above 25 °C and 0 days below freezing.

Eswatini · population 76,218 · 1991–2020 normals

Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month

Warmest month December 24 °C
Coldest month July 6.5 °C
Driest month June 18 mm
Wettest month January 211 mm
Least cloud June 20 % cloud
Hottest on record September 35 °C
Coldest on record July -0.4 °C

What to expectMbabane through the year

Mbabane has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 19 °C in July to 24 °C in December, a swing of 7.8 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 101 days a year reach 25 °C, 10 of them reach 30 °C, 0 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 35 °C, in September.

Rain is strongly seasonal. January averages 211 mm against 18 mm in June — 12 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	24.4 °C	211 mm	67 %
February	24.3 °C	177 mm	64 %
March	23.6 °C	152 mm	56 %
April	21.8 °C	79 mm	45 %
May	20.4 °C	32 mm	27 %
June	18.7 °C	18 mm	20 %
July	18.6 °C	19 mm	23 %
August	20.8 °C	32 mm	29 %
September	23.1 °C	57 mm	41 %
October	23.0 °C	113 mm	60 %
November	23.7 °C	171 mm	68 %
December	24.5 °C	205 mm	70 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C
January	24.4 °C	16.0 °C	19.8 °C	34.5 °C	9.6 °C	13	1
February	24.3 °C	16.1 °C	19.8 °C	34.5 °C	10.8 °C	12	1
March	23.6 °C	14.9 °C	18.9 °C	31.4 °C	8.2 °C	11	0
April	21.8 °C	12.5 °C	16.7 °C	30.5 °C	5.1 °C	5	0
May	20.4 °C	9.5 °C	14.4 °C	30.0 °C	1.3 °C	2	0
June	18.7 °C	7.1 °C	12.3 °C	27.5 °C	0.0 °C	0	0
July	18.6 °C	6.5 °C	12.0 °C	27.7 °C	-0.4 °C	1	0
August	20.8 °C	8.4 °C	14.1 °C	30.8 °C	-0.2 °C	6	0
September	23.1 °C	10.9 °C	16.6 °C	34.9 °C	1.2 °C	12	2
October	23.0 °C	12.4 °C	17.3 °C	34.9 °C	2.8 °C	12	2
November	23.7 °C	13.9 °C	18.5 °C	33.9 °C	3.5 °C	13	1
December	24.5 °C	15.4 °C	19.6 °C	33.9 °C	7.5 °C	15	2

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	211 mm	19	14 h/day	67 %	83 %	13 km/h
February	177 mm	17	13 h/day	64 %	83 %	13 km/h
March	152 mm	16	12 h/day	56 %	82 %	12 km/h
April	79 mm	11	11 h/day	45 %	79 %	12 km/h
May	32 mm	5	11 h/day	27 %	71 %	12 km/h
June	18 mm	3	11 h/day	20 %	65 %	13 km/h
July	19 mm	4	11 h/day	23 %	64 %	13 km/h
August	32 mm	6	11 h/day	29 %	63 %	14 km/h
September	57 mm	8	12 h/day	41 %	66 %	15 km/h
October	113 mm	15	13 h/day	60 %	75 %	15 km/h
November	171 mm	18	13 h/day	68 %	79 %	14 km/h
December	205 mm	19	14 h/day	70 %	82 %	13 km/h

How Mbabane compares

The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.

Destination	Summer high	Winter low	Rain per year	Days above 25 °C
Mbabane	24 °C	6.5 °C	1,264 mm	101
Matola · Mozambique	29 °C	14 °C	659 mm	257
Maputo · Mozambique	29 °C	15 °C	665 mm	233
Vryheid · South Africa	26 °C	4.5 °C	880 mm	139
Middelburg · South Africa	26 °C	3.7 °C	674 mm	127
Emalahleni · South Africa	25 °C	2.6 °C	711 mm	101
Newcastle · South Africa	26 °C	3.6 °C	847 mm	152

Where Mbabane ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The coolest places in Africa in May	19th of 50	20 °C
The coolest places in Africa in June	24th of 50	19 °C
Places with the best weather in Africa in September	26th of 50	91/100
The coolest places in Africa in July	26th of 50	19 °C
Places with the best weather in Africa in August	32nd of 50	92/100
The coolest places in Africa in September	32nd of 50	23 °C

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Mbabane.

QuestionsCommon questions about Mbabane’s climate

When is the best time to visit Mbabane?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. January, February, December sit closest to 20 °C on average, December is the warmest month and June the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Mbabane get?

In December, the warmest month, daily highs average 24 °C. About 10 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 35 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 6.5 °C in July, the coldest month. A normal year has 0 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Mbabane?

January, averaging 211 mm over 19 days with rain. The driest month is June with 18 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,264 mm.

Are these figures a forecast?

No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Mbabane rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.

Data sources and method

ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0

Normal period: 1991–2020
Data point: -26.317°, 31.133° (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.