Mthatha climate

Name: Mthatha
Address: ZA

Mthatha is warmest in February, with average highs of 25 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 6.8 °C. January is the wettest month (137 mm) and July the driest (22 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Mthatha averages 948 mm of rain, 121 days above 25 °C and 0 days below freezing.

South Africa · population 164,848 · 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 25 °C
Coldest month July 6.8 °C
Driest month July 22 mm
Wettest month January 137 mm
Least cloud July 28 % cloud
Hottest on record January 40 °C
Coldest on record July -0.8 °C

What to expectMthatha through the year

Mthatha has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 20 °C in July to 25 °C in February, a swing of 7.9 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 121 days a year reach 25 °C, 30 of them reach 30 °C, 0 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 40 °C, in January.

Rain is strongly seasonal. January averages 137 mm against 22 mm in July — 6.2 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	25.2 °C	137 mm	72 %
February	25.4 °C	120 mm	68 %
March	24.6 °C	112 mm	63 %
April	22.9 °C	71 mm	53 %
May	21.8 °C	26 mm	40 %
June	19.9 °C	23 mm	29 %
July	20.1 °C	22 mm	28 %
August	21.3 °C	31 mm	38 %
September	22.6 °C	55 mm	52 %
October	22.4 °C	94 mm	65 %
November	23.2 °C	124 mm	69 %
December	24.2 °C	133 mm	72 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C
January	25.2 °C	16.2 °C	20.2 °C	39.8 °C	10.0 °C	16	4
February	25.4 °C	16.6 °C	20.5 °C	37.8 °C	9.1 °C	15	4
March	24.6 °C	15.6 °C	19.5 °C	36.4 °C	7.7 °C	15	3
April	22.9 °C	13.0 °C	17.3 °C	36.8 °C	4.9 °C	11	2
May	21.8 °C	10.3 °C	15.2 °C	30.2 °C	2.7 °C	7	0
June	19.9 °C	7.3 °C	12.7 °C	28.6 °C	0.6 °C	2	0
July	20.1 °C	6.8 °C	12.6 °C	29.8 °C	-0.8 °C	4	0
August	21.3 °C	8.3 °C	14.0 °C	34.1 °C	0.3 °C	8	1
September	22.6 °C	10.0 °C	15.5 °C	37.5 °C	3.4 °C	10	4
October	22.4 °C	11.6 °C	16.4 °C	38.7 °C	3.8 °C	10	4
November	23.2 °C	13.0 °C	17.6 °C	39.7 °C	5.9 °C	10	3
December	24.2 °C	14.9 °C	19.1 °C	37.1 °C	7.6 °C	13	4

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	137 mm	17	14 h/day	72 %	83 %	15 km/h
February	120 mm	15	13 h/day	68 %	84 %	15 km/h
March	112 mm	15	12 h/day	63 %	83 %	14 km/h
April	71 mm	9	11 h/day	53 %	79 %	13 km/h
May	26 mm	5	11 h/day	40 %	72 %	13 km/h
June	23 mm	3	10 h/day	29 %	64 %	14 km/h
July	22 mm	3	10 h/day	28 %	61 %	14 km/h
August	31 mm	5	11 h/day	38 %	64 %	16 km/h
September	55 mm	8	12 h/day	52 %	70 %	17 km/h
October	94 mm	14	13 h/day	65 %	77 %	17 km/h
November	124 mm	15	14 h/day	69 %	79 %	17 km/h
December	133 mm	18	14 h/day	72 %	82 %	16 km/h

How Mthatha 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
Mthatha	25 °C	6.8 °C	948 mm	121
East London · South Africa	26 °C	13 °C	706 mm	112
Pietermaritzburg · South Africa	27 °C	6.4 °C	888 mm	158
Maseru · Lesotho	27 °C	-0.9 °C	851 mm	107
Durban · South Africa	27 °C	14 °C	838 mm	144

Where Mthatha ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The coolest places in Africa in September	26th of 50	23 °C
The coolest places in Africa in October	28th of 50	22 °C
Places with the best weather in Africa in August	31st of 50	93/100
The coolest places in Africa in May	35th of 50	22 °C
The coolest places in Africa in June	37th of 50	20 °C
The coolest places in Africa in August	38th of 50	21 °C

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

QuestionsCommon questions about Mthatha’s climate

When is the best time to visit Mthatha?

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

How hot does Mthatha get?

In February, the warmest month, daily highs average 25 °C. About 30 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 6.8 °C in July, the coldest month. A normal year has 0 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Mthatha?

January, averaging 137 mm over 17 days with rain. The driest month is July with 22 mm. The year as a whole averages 948 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 Mthatha 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: -31.589°, 28.784° (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.