Pietermaritzburg climate

Name: Pietermaritzburg
Address: ZA

Pietermaritzburg is warmest in February, with average highs of 27 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 6.4 °C. January is the wettest month (131 mm) and June the driest (20 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Pietermaritzburg averages 888 mm of rain, 158 days above 25 °C and 0 days below freezing.

South Africa · population 839,327 · 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 6.4 °C
Driest month June 20 mm
Wettest month January 131 mm
Least cloud July 26 % cloud
Hottest on record October 40 °C
Coldest on record July -0.8 °C

What to expectPietermaritzburg through the year

Pietermaritzburg has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 21 °C in July to 27 °C in February, a swing of 8.8 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 158 days a year reach 25 °C, 46 of them reach 30 °C, 0 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 40 °C, in October.

Rain is strongly seasonal. January averages 131 mm against 20 mm in June — 6.4 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	26.5 °C	131 mm	69 %
February	26.8 °C	110 mm	64 %
March	26.0 °C	97 mm	59 %
April	24.0 °C	61 mm	51 %
May	22.7 °C	27 mm	35 %
June	20.7 °C	20 mm	26 %
July	20.8 °C	29 mm	26 %
August	22.6 °C	32 mm	36 %
September	24.1 °C	54 mm	50 %
October	24.0 °C	91 mm	66 %
November	24.7 °C	111 mm	70 %
December	25.9 °C	124 mm	71 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C
January	26.5 °C	17.2 °C	21.3 °C	37.6 °C	10.6 °C	19	7
February	26.8 °C	17.5 °C	21.5 °C	38.8 °C	11.4 °C	19	6
March	26.0 °C	16.2 °C	20.5 °C	36.4 °C	8.9 °C	19	6
April	24.0 °C	13.4 °C	18.1 °C	36.2 °C	4.8 °C	13	2
May	22.7 °C	9.9 °C	15.6 °C	31.6 °C	-0.1 °C	9	0
June	20.7 °C	6.7 °C	12.9 °C	30.0 °C	0.0 °C	3	0
July	20.8 °C	6.4 °C	12.8 °C	30.6 °C	-0.8 °C	5	0
August	22.6 °C	8.5 °C	14.7 °C	33.6 °C	-0.1 °C	11	2
September	24.1 °C	11.1 °C	16.8 °C	40.2 °C	3.2 °C	14	6
October	24.0 °C	13.0 °C	17.8 °C	40.3 °C	5.6 °C	14	5
November	24.7 °C	14.4 °C	19.0 °C	39.2 °C	6.3 °C	14	5
December	25.9 °C	16.2 °C	20.5 °C	39.4 °C	7.7 °C	17	7

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	131 mm	17	14 h/day	69 %	83 %	14 km/h
February	110 mm	14	13 h/day	64 %	83 %	14 km/h
March	97 mm	14	12 h/day	59 %	82 %	13 km/h
April	61 mm	9	11 h/day	51 %	80 %	13 km/h
May	27 mm	5	11 h/day	35 %	73 %	12 km/h
June	20 mm	3	10 h/day	26 %	67 %	12 km/h
July	29 mm	4	10 h/day	26 %	65 %	13 km/h
August	32 mm	6	11 h/day	36 %	67 %	14 km/h
September	54 mm	9	12 h/day	50 %	72 %	15 km/h
October	91 mm	14	13 h/day	66 %	78 %	15 km/h
November	111 mm	16	14 h/day	70 %	80 %	15 km/h
December	124 mm	18	14 h/day	71 %	82 %	15 km/h

How Pietermaritzburg 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
Pietermaritzburg	27 °C	6.4 °C	888 mm	158
Durban · South Africa	27 °C	14 °C	838 mm	144
KwaDukuza · South Africa	28 °C	12 °C	865 mm	173
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 Pietermaritzburg ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
Places with the best weather in Africa in August	35th of 50	92/100
The coolest places in Africa in June	44th of 50	21 °C
The coolest places in Africa in September	48th of 50	24 °C

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

QuestionsCommon questions about Pietermaritzburg’s climate

When is the best time to visit Pietermaritzburg?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. March, November, December 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 Pietermaritzburg get?

In February, the warmest month, daily highs average 27 °C. About 46 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 6.4 °C in July, the coldest month. A normal year has 0 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Pietermaritzburg?

January, averaging 131 mm over 17 days with rain. The driest month is June with 20 mm. The year as a whole averages 888 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 Pietermaritzburg 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: -29.617°, 30.393° (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.