Windhoek climate
Windhoek is warmest in December, with average highs of 30 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 5.9 °C. February is the wettest month (134 mm) and August the driest (0.3 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Windhoek averages 485 mm of rain, 224 days above 25 °C and 4 days below freezing.
Namibia · 1,700 m elevation · population 386,219 · 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 30 °C
- Coldest month July 5.9 °C
- Driest month August 0 mm
- Wettest month February 134 mm
- Least cloud June 7 % cloud
- Hottest on record February 36 °C
- Coldest on record June -4.2 °C
What to expectWindhoek through the year
Windhoek has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 21 °C in July to 30 °C in December, a swing of 11 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 224 days a year reach 25 °C, 86 of them reach 30 °C, 4 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 36 °C, in February.
Rain is strongly seasonal. February averages 134 mm against 0 mm in August — 514 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29.2 °C | 126 mm | 49 % |
| February | 28.0 °C | 134 mm | 51 % |
| March | 27.0 °C | 82 mm | 40 % |
| April | 25.4 °C | 27 mm | 25 % |
| May | 23.3 °C | 4 mm | 11 % |
| June | 20.7 °C | under 1 mm | 7 % |
| July | 20.5 °C | under 1 mm | 7 % |
| August | 23.8 °C | under 1 mm | 9 % |
| September | 27.8 °C | 5 mm | 15 % |
| October | 29.9 °C | 13 mm | 24 % |
| November | 30.1 °C | 33 mm | 31 % |
| December | 30.5 °C | 60 mm | 39 % |
Temperature month by month
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Mean | Record high | Record low | Days above 25 °C | Days above 30 °C | Days below 0 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29.2 °C | 17.2 °C | 23.1 °C | 35.6 °C | 4.8 °C | 27 | 14 | 0 |
| February | 28.0 °C | 16.8 °C | 22.3 °C | 36.2 °C | 8.7 °C | 23 | 8 | 0 |
| March | 27.0 °C | 15.7 °C | 21.2 °C | 35.0 °C | 7.1 °C | 23 | 5 | 0 |
| April | 25.4 °C | 13.2 °C | 19.2 °C | 31.7 °C | 1.9 °C | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 23.3 °C | 10.2 °C | 16.6 °C | 28.5 °C | -1.3 °C | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| June | 20.7 °C | 6.7 °C | 13.4 °C | 26.1 °C | -4.2 °C | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| July | 20.5 °C | 5.9 °C | 12.9 °C | 26.6 °C | -4.2 °C | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| August | 23.8 °C | 8.0 °C | 15.8 °C | 29.5 °C | -3.1 °C | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| September | 27.8 °C | 11.5 °C | 19.7 °C | 34.2 °C | -1.0 °C | 26 | 5 | 0 |
| October | 29.9 °C | 14.4 °C | 22.2 °C | 35.5 °C | 1.3 °C | 30 | 16 | 0 |
| November | 30.1 °C | 15.3 °C | 22.8 °C | 35.5 °C | 2.9 °C | 29 | 17 | 0 |
| December | 30.5 °C | 16.6 °C | 23.6 °C | 35.8 °C | 7.7 °C | 29 | 20 | 0 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 126 mm | 12 | 13 h/day | 49 % | 51 % | 17 km/h |
| February | 134 mm | 12 | 13 h/day | 51 % | 58 % | 16 km/h |
| March | 82 mm | 11 | 12 h/day | 40 % | 57 % | 16 km/h |
| April | 27 mm | 5 | 12 h/day | 25 % | 50 % | 17 km/h |
| May | 4 mm | 1 | 11 h/day | 11 % | 39 % | 18 km/h |
| June | under 1 mm | 0 | 11 h/day | 7 % | 37 % | 18 km/h |
| July | under 1 mm | 0 | 11 h/day | 7 % | 36 % | 19 km/h |
| August | under 1 mm | 0 | 11 h/day | 9 % | 26 % | 20 km/h |
| September | 5 mm | 1 | 12 h/day | 15 % | 24 % | 20 km/h |
| October | 13 mm | 3 | 13 h/day | 24 % | 26 % | 20 km/h |
| November | 33 mm | 5 | 13 h/day | 31 % | 32 % | 20 km/h |
| December | 60 mm | 8 | 14 h/day | 39 % | 39 % | 19 km/h |
Where Windhoek ranks
| Ranking | Position | Value |
|---|---|---|
| The driest places in North America in June | 2ndof 50 | 0.4 mm |
| The driest places in North America in August | 3rdof 50 | 0.3 mm |
| The warmest places in North America in December | 4thof 50 | 30 °C |
| The driest places in North America in July | 6thof 50 | 0.4 mm |
| The warmest places in North America in November | 7thof 50 | 30 °C |
| The coolest places in North America in July | 8thof 50 | 21 °C |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Windhoek.
QuestionsCommon questions about Windhoek’s climate
When is the best time to visit Windhoek?
That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. March, April, September sit closest to 20 °C on average, December is the warmest month and August the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.
How hot does Windhoek get?
In December, the warmest month, daily highs average 30 °C. About 86 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 36 °C.
How cold does it get in winter?
Nights average 5.9 °C in July, the coldest month. A normal year has 4 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Windhoek?
February, averaging 134 mm over 12 days with rain. The driest month is August with 0 mm. The year as a whole averages 485 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 Windhoek 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
- Dataset version
- era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
- Last processed
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.