Johannesburg climate

Name: Johannesburg
Address: ZA

Johannesburg is warmest in October, with average highs of 25 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 2.4 °C. December is the wettest month (132 mm) and July the driest (2.8 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Johannesburg averages 731 mm of rain, 87 days above 25 °C and 11 days below freezing.

South Africa · population 9,418,183 · 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 October 25 °C
Coldest month July 2.4 °C
Driest month July 3 mm
Wettest month December 132 mm
Least cloud July 12 % cloud
Hottest on record January 36 °C
Coldest on record June -4.5 °C

What to expectJohannesburg through the year

Johannesburg has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 16 °C in July to 25 °C in October, a swing of 10 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 87 days a year reach 25 °C, 5 of them reach 30 °C, 11 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 36 °C, in January.

Rain is strongly seasonal. December averages 132 mm against 3 mm in July — 47 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	24.5 °C	128 mm	52 %
February	24.3 °C	110 mm	49 %
March	23.0 °C	87 mm	43 %
April	20.6 °C	45 mm	37 %
May	18.6 °C	17 mm	21 %
June	16.3 °C	8 mm	15 %
July	16.4 °C	3 mm	12 %
August	19.5 °C	10 mm	16 %
September	23.5 °C	22 mm	24 %
October	24.6 °C	73 mm	40 %
November	24.2 °C	97 mm	50 %
December	24.4 °C	132 mm	55 %

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	24.5 °C	14.2 °C	19.2 °C	36.0 °C	6.4 °C	13	1	0
February	24.3 °C	14.0 °C	19.0 °C	31.0 °C	9.0 °C	11	0	0
March	23.0 °C	12.5 °C	17.6 °C	30.3 °C	6.0 °C	8	0	0
April	20.6 °C	9.4 °C	14.9 °C	27.8 °C	0.8 °C	1	0	0
May	18.6 °C	5.9 °C	12.0 °C	26.3 °C	-3.5 °C	0	0	1
June	16.3 °C	3.0 °C	9.2 °C	23.0 °C	-4.5 °C	0	0	3
July	16.4 °C	2.4 °C	9.0 °C	23.1 °C	-4.3 °C	0	0	6
August	19.5 °C	5.0 °C	12.1 °C	27.2 °C	-4.0 °C	1	0	2
September	23.5 °C	8.7 °C	16.1 °C	30.8 °C	-2.1 °C	12	0	0
October	24.6 °C	11.0 °C	17.7 °C	33.5 °C	3.1 °C	15	2	0
November	24.2 °C	12.3 °C	18.1 °C	33.8 °C	3.6 °C	13	1	0
December	24.4 °C	13.8 °C	18.9 °C	34.1 °C	4.8 °C	13	1	0

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	128 mm	16	14 h/day	52 %	70 %	16 km/h
February	110 mm	13	13 h/day	49 %	70 %	16 km/h
March	87 mm	12	12 h/day	43 %	69 %	15 km/h
April	45 mm	7	11 h/day	37 %	66 %	15 km/h
May	17 mm	3	11 h/day	21 %	57 %	15 km/h
June	8 mm	1	11 h/day	15 %	54 %	16 km/h
July	3 mm	1	11 h/day	12 %	49 %	16 km/h
August	10 mm	2	11 h/day	16 %	45 %	18 km/h
September	22 mm	4	12 h/day	24 %	42 %	19 km/h
October	73 mm	10	13 h/day	40 %	53 %	20 km/h
November	97 mm	13	13 h/day	50 %	62 %	19 km/h
December	132 mm	18	14 h/day	55 %	68 %	18 km/h

How Johannesburg 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
Johannesburg	25 °C	2.4 °C	731 mm	87
Soweto · South Africa	25 °C	2.8 °C	729 mm	102
Benoni · South Africa	25 °C	2.7 °C	705 mm	107
Thembisa · South Africa	26 °C	3.5 °C	641 mm	121
Krugersdorp · South Africa	25 °C	2.6 °C	664 mm	92
Centurion · South Africa	27 °C	4.6 °C	627 mm	152
Westonaria · South Africa	26 °C	3.1 °C	728 mm	117

Where Johannesburg ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The coolest places in Africa in May	2nd of 50	19 °C
The coolest places in Africa in June	3rd of 50	16 °C
The coolest places in Africa in July	4th of 50	16 °C
The coolest places in Africa in August	12th of 50	20 °C
Places with the best weather in Africa in September	21st of 50	92/100
The coolest places in Africa year-round	21st of 50	22 °C

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

QuestionsCommon questions about Johannesburg’s climate

When is the best time to visit Johannesburg?

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, October is the warmest month and July the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Johannesburg get?

In October, the warmest month, daily highs average 25 °C. About 5 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 2.4 °C in July, the coldest month. A normal year has 11 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Johannesburg?

December, averaging 132 mm over 18 days with rain. The driest month is July with 3 mm. The year as a whole averages 731 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 Johannesburg 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: -26.202°, 28.044° (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.