Bloemfontein climate

Name: Bloemfontein
Address: ZA

Bloemfontein is warmest in January, with average highs of 30 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 1.7 °C. January is the wettest month (81 mm) and July the driest (7.9 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Bloemfontein averages 519 mm of rain, 174 days above 25 °C and 21 days below freezing.

South Africa · population 556,637 · 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 January 30 °C
Coldest month July 1.7 °C
Driest month July 8 mm
Wettest month January 81 mm
Least cloud July 15 % cloud
Hottest on record January 41 °C
Coldest on record August -5.4 °C

What to expectBloemfontein through the year

Bloemfontein has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 17 °C in July to 30 °C in January, a swing of 14 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 174 days a year reach 25 °C, 70 of them reach 30 °C, 21 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 41 °C, in January.

Rain is strongly seasonal. January averages 81 mm against 8 mm in July — 10 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	30.0 °C	81 mm	37 %
February	28.9 °C	72 mm	38 %
March	26.9 °C	69 mm	35 %
April	22.9 °C	46 mm	32 %
May	19.6 °C	20 mm	25 %
June	16.5 °C	11 mm	19 %
July	16.8 °C	8 mm	15 %
August	19.9 °C	15 mm	19 %
September	24.5 °C	16 mm	25 %
October	26.9 °C	42 mm	33 %
November	28.1 °C	64 mm	35 %
December	29.8 °C	73 mm	36 %

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	30.0 °C	16.7 °C	23.3 °C	40.9 °C	6.4 °C	28	16	0
February	28.9 °C	16.2 °C	22.4 °C	36.2 °C	8.2 °C	25	11	0
March	26.9 °C	14.1 °C	20.3 °C	35.7 °C	5.2 °C	22	5	0
April	22.9 °C	9.9 °C	16.2 °C	32.5 °C	-0.9 °C	8	0	0
May	19.6 °C	5.8 °C	12.5 °C	27.9 °C	-3.8 °C	1	0	1
June	16.5 °C	2.2 °C	8.9 °C	24.6 °C	-5.0 °C	0	0	7
July	16.8 °C	1.7 °C	8.9 °C	23.9 °C	-5.1 °C	0	0	9
August	19.9 °C	4.0 °C	11.8 °C	29.0 °C	-5.4 °C	3	0	4
September	24.5 °C	8.0 °C	16.4 °C	32.6 °C	-1.9 °C	15	3	0
October	26.9 °C	11.3 °C	19.2 °C	36.7 °C	1.4 °C	21	7	0
November	28.1 °C	13.2 °C	20.8 °C	37.8 °C	2.9 °C	23	11	0
December	29.8 °C	15.5 °C	22.7 °C	38.3 °C	4.7 °C	28	16	0

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	81 mm	12	14 h/day	37 %	52 %	19 km/h
February	72 mm	11	13 h/day	38 %	57 %	17 km/h
March	69 mm	10	12 h/day	35 %	58 %	16 km/h
April	46 mm	7	11 h/day	32 %	60 %	15 km/h
May	20 mm	3	11 h/day	25 %	57 %	15 km/h
June	11 mm	2	10 h/day	19 %	55 %	15 km/h
July	8 mm	1	10 h/day	15 %	49 %	16 km/h
August	15 mm	2	11 h/day	19 %	42 %	18 km/h
September	16 mm	3	12 h/day	25 %	36 %	20 km/h
October	42 mm	6	13 h/day	33 %	41 %	21 km/h
November	64 mm	8	14 h/day	35 %	44 %	21 km/h
December	73 mm	10	14 h/day	36 %	48 %	21 km/h

How Bloemfontein 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
Bloemfontein	30 °C	1.7 °C	519 mm	174
Botshabelo · South Africa	29 °C	1.4 °C	602 mm	154
Maseru · Lesotho	27 °C	-0.9 °C	851 mm	107
Welkom · South Africa	29 °C	2.1 °C	548 mm	176
Klerksdorp · South Africa	29 °C	3.0 °C	569 mm	194

Where Bloemfontein ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The coolest places in Africa in June	5thof 50	16 °C
The coolest places in Africa in July	6thof 50	17 °C
The coolest places in Africa in May	11thof 50	20 °C
The coolest places in Africa in August	16thof 50	20 °C
Places with the best weather in Africa in April	34thof 50	93/100

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

QuestionsCommon questions about Bloemfontein’s climate

When is the best time to visit Bloemfontein?

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

How hot does Bloemfontein get?

In January, the warmest month, daily highs average 30 °C. About 70 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 41 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 1.7 °C in July, the coldest month. A normal year has 21 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Bloemfontein?

January, averaging 81 mm over 12 days with rain. The driest month is July with 8 mm. The year as a whole averages 519 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 Bloemfontein 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: 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.