East London climate

Name: East London
Address: ZA

East London is warmest in February, with average highs of 26 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 13 °C. March is the wettest month (83 mm) and May the driest (25 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year East London averages 706 mm of rain and 112 days above 25 °C.

South Africa · population 478,676 · 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 26 °C
Coldest month July 13 °C
Driest month May 25 mm
Wettest month March 83 mm
Least cloud July 29 % cloud
Hottest on record October 40 °C
Coldest on record July 5.2 °C
Warmest sea February 25 °C

What to expectEast London through the year

East London has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 21 °C in July to 26 °C in February, a swing of 6.5 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 112 days a year reach 25 °C, 13 of them reach 30 °C. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 40 °C, in October.

Rain is strongly seasonal. March averages 83 mm against 25 mm in May — 3.3 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

The sea off East London is warmest in February at 25 °C and coldest in August at 20 °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	25.6 °C	76 mm	58 %
February	26.1 °C	79 mm	57 %
March	25.3 °C	83 mm	51 %
April	23.8 °C	74 mm	48 %
May	22.9 °C	25 mm	41 %
June	21.5 °C	26 mm	31 %
July	21.3 °C	28 mm	29 %
August	21.1 °C	40 mm	37 %
September	21.5 °C	49 mm	48 %
October	21.9 °C	69 mm	57 %
November	23.0 °C	78 mm	59 %
December	24.5 °C	80 mm	59 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C
January	25.6 °C	20.0 °C	22.6 °C	34.2 °C	14.8 °C	18	2
February	26.1 °C	20.5 °C	23.0 °C	35.2 °C	14.2 °C	18	2
March	25.3 °C	19.6 °C	22.1 °C	36.8 °C	13.9 °C	16	2
April	23.8 °C	17.5 °C	20.3 °C	35.5 °C	12.4 °C	10	1
May	22.9 °C	15.6 °C	18.8 °C	35.2 °C	9.1 °C	7	1
June	21.5 °C	13.4 °C	17.0 °C	31.5 °C	7.4 °C	5	0
July	21.3 °C	12.8 °C	16.5 °C	33.1 °C	5.2 °C	6	1
August	21.1 °C	13.1 °C	16.7 °C	36.6 °C	6.0 °C	5	1
September	21.5 °C	14.2 °C	17.4 °C	35.9 °C	8.5 °C	4	1
October	21.9 °C	15.6 °C	18.5 °C	40.3 °C	9.6 °C	4	1
November	23.0 °C	16.9 °C	19.8 °C	38.4 °C	9.6 °C	7	0
December	24.5 °C	18.7 °C	21.4 °C	34.9 °C	12.7 °C	12	1

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind	Sea temp
January	76 mm	11	14 h/day	58 %	78 %	22 km/h	24.3 °C
February	79 mm	10	13 h/day	57 %	79 %	22 km/h	24.8 °C
March	83 mm	11	12 h/day	51 %	79 %	21 km/h	24.7 °C
April	74 mm	8	11 h/day	48 %	77 %	20 km/h	24.2 °C
May	25 mm	4	10 h/day	41 %	71 %	20 km/h	23.2 °C
June	26 mm	4	10.0 h/day	31 %	64 %	21 km/h	21.7 °C
July	28 mm	4	10 h/day	29 %	63 %	21 km/h	21.0 °C
August	40 mm	6	11 h/day	37 %	68 %	22 km/h	20.4 °C
September	49 mm	7	12 h/day	48 %	72 %	23 km/h	20.5 °C
October	69 mm	10	13 h/day	57 %	75 %	24 km/h	20.9 °C
November	78 mm	11	14 h/day	59 %	76 %	23 km/h	22.2 °C
December	80 mm	12	14 h/day	59 %	77 %	22 km/h	23.1 °C

How East London 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
East London	26 °C	13 °C	706 mm	112
Mthatha · South Africa	25 °C	6.8 °C	948 mm	121
Gqeberha · South Africa	24 °C	12 °C	466 mm	45
Kariega · South Africa	27 °C	9.4 °C	458 mm	135
Maseru · Lesotho	27 °C	-0.9 °C	851 mm	107
Botshabelo · South Africa	29 °C	1.4 °C	602 mm	154
Pietermaritzburg · South Africa	27 °C	6.4 °C	888 mm	158

Where East London ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The coolest places in Africa in September	16th of 50	22 °C
The coolest places in Africa in October	20th of 50	22 °C
Best beach destinations in Africa in February	22nd of 50	84/100
Places with the best weather in Africa in June	22nd of 50	96/100
Best beach destinations in Africa in March	24th of 50	80/100
Places with the best weather in Africa year-round	24th of 50	86/100

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit East London.

QuestionsCommon questions about East London’s climate

When is the best time to visit East London?

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

How hot does East London get?

In February, the warmest month, daily highs average 26 °C. About 13 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 40 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 13 °C in July, the coldest month. Freezing nights are not part of a normal year here.

Which month is wettest in East London?

March, averaging 83 mm over 11 days with rain. The driest month is May with 25 mm. The year as a whole averages 706 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 East London 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: -33.015°, 27.912° (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.