Durban climate

Name: Durban
Address: ZA

Durban is warmest in February, with average highs of 27 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 14 °C. November is the wettest month (97 mm) and June the driest (29 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Durban averages 838 mm of rain and 144 days above 25 °C.

South Africa · population 3,338,026 · 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 February 27 °C
Coldest month July 14 °C
Driest month June 29 mm
Wettest month November 97 mm
Least cloud June 25 % cloud
Hottest on record September 37 °C
Coldest on record July 7.9 °C
Warmest sea February 26 °C

What to expectDurban through the year

Durban has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 21 °C in July to 27 °C in February, a swing of 7.1 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 144 days a year reach 25 °C, 10 of them reach 30 °C. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 37 °C, in September.

Rain is strongly seasonal. November averages 97 mm against 29 mm in June — 3.4 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

The sea off Durban is warmest in February at 26 °C and coldest in August at 21 °C. Sea temperature lags the air by a month or two, which is why late summer swims warmer than early summer at the same air temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	26.7 °C	93 mm	62 %
February	27.1 °C	81 mm	57 %
March	26.4 °C	91 mm	51 %
April	24.8 °C	77 mm	45 %
May	23.6 °C	44 mm	33 %
June	22.1 °C	29 mm	25 %
July	21.5 °C	44 mm	25 %
August	22.1 °C	35 mm	34 %
September	22.5 °C	61 mm	49 %
October	23.0 °C	92 mm	62 %
November	24.2 °C	97 mm	66 %
December	25.6 °C	92 mm	65 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C
January	26.7 °C	21.6 °C	24.1 °C	33.8 °C	16.8 °C	23	2
February	27.1 °C	22.0 °C	24.4 °C	36.4 °C	17.2 °C	24	2
March	26.4 °C	21.2 °C	23.7 °C	33.2 °C	15.9 °C	23	1
April	24.8 °C	19.1 °C	21.8 °C	33.7 °C	12.6 °C	14	1
May	23.6 °C	16.7 °C	20.0 °C	32.9 °C	11.3 °C	8	0
June	22.1 °C	14.3 °C	18.0 °C	32.4 °C	9.9 °C	3	0
July	21.5 °C	13.6 °C	17.3 °C	30.8 °C	7.9 °C	3	0
August	22.1 °C	14.6 °C	18.2 °C	33.8 °C	8.8 °C	5	0
September	22.5 °C	16.1 °C	19.2 °C	36.7 °C	10.2 °C	6	1
October	23.0 °C	17.5 °C	20.1 °C	35.8 °C	12.8 °C	7	1
November	24.2 °C	18.8 °C	21.5 °C	33.6 °C	12.3 °C	11	1
December	25.6 °C	20.5 °C	23.0 °C	35.7 °C	13.7 °C	19	1

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind	Sea temp
January	93 mm	13	14 h/day	62 %	79 %	23 km/h	25.2 °C
February	81 mm	11	13 h/day	57 %	80 %	22 km/h	25.7 °C
March	91 mm	11	12 h/day	51 %	80 %	22 km/h	25.5 °C
April	77 mm	9	11 h/day	45 %	78 %	21 km/h	24.7 °C
May	44 mm	5	11 h/day	33 %	76 %	19 km/h	23.6 °C
June	29 mm	4	10 h/day	25 %	71 %	19 km/h	22.4 °C
July	44 mm	5	10 h/day	25 %	71 %	20 km/h	21.6 °C
August	35 mm	6	11 h/day	34 %	72 %	22 km/h	21.1 °C
September	61 mm	8	12 h/day	49 %	76 %	24 km/h	21.2 °C
October	92 mm	12	13 h/day	62 %	78 %	25 km/h	21.8 °C
November	97 mm	13	14 h/day	66 %	78 %	24 km/h	22.8 °C
December	92 mm	12	14 h/day	65 %	79 %	24 km/h	24.0 °C

How Durban 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
Durban	27 °C	14 °C	838 mm	144
KwaDukuza · South Africa	28 °C	12 °C	865 mm	173
Pietermaritzburg · South Africa	27 °C	6.4 °C	888 mm	158
Richards Bay · South Africa	29 °C	15 °C	896 mm	202
Vryheid · South Africa	26 °C	4.5 °C	880 mm	139
Newcastle · South Africa	26 °C	3.6 °C	847 mm	152
Mthatha · South Africa	25 °C	6.8 °C	948 mm	121

Where Durban ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
Best beach destinations in Africa in March	18th of 50	83/100
Best beach destinations in Africa in April	20th of 50	85/100
Best beach destinations in Africa in February	20th of 50	84/100
The coolest places in Africa in September	24th of 50	23 °C
Places with the best weather in Africa in June	31st of 50	95/100
Best beach destinations in Africa in May	33rd of 50	87/100

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

QuestionsCommon questions about Durban’s climate

When is the best time to visit Durban?

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

How hot does Durban get?

In February, the warmest month, daily highs average 27 °C. About 10 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 37 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 14 °C in July, the coldest month. Freezing nights are not part of a normal year here.

Which month is wettest in Durban?

November, averaging 97 mm over 13 days with rain. The driest month is June with 29 mm. The year as a whole averages 838 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 Durban 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: -29.858°, 31.029° (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.