Richards Bay climate

Name: Richards Bay
Address: ZA

Richards Bay is warmest in February, with average highs of 29 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 15 °C. January is the wettest month (110 mm) and August the driest (40 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Richards Bay averages 896 mm of rain and 202 days above 25 °C.

South Africa · population 252,968 · 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 29 °C
Coldest month July 15 °C
Driest month August 40 mm
Wettest month January 110 mm
Least cloud June 24 % cloud
Hottest on record September 42 °C
Coldest on record July 7.0 °C
Warmest sea February 27 °C

What to expectRichards Bay through the year

Richards Bay has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 23 °C in July to 29 °C in February, a swing of 6.9 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 202 days a year reach 25 °C, 59 of them reach 30 °C. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 42 °C, in September.

Rain is strongly seasonal. January averages 110 mm against 40 mm in August — 2.7 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

The sea off Richards Bay is warmest in February at 27 °C and coldest in August at 22 °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	28.6 °C	110 mm	59 %
February	28.7 °C	99 mm	52 %
March	28.0 °C	98 mm	47 %
April	26.2 °C	82 mm	42 %
May	24.7 °C	59 mm	30 %
June	23.1 °C	40 mm	24 %
July	22.6 °C	47 mm	26 %
August	23.6 °C	40 mm	33 %
September	24.7 °C	57 mm	45 %
October	25.0 °C	81 mm	61 %
November	26.3 °C	92 mm	65 %
December	27.9 °C	91 mm	63 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C
January	28.6 °C	22.1 °C	25.0 °C	39.8 °C	16.7 °C	26	10
February	28.7 °C	22.4 °C	25.2 °C	41.5 °C	18.0 °C	25	9
March	28.0 °C	21.6 °C	24.5 °C	36.4 °C	16.2 °C	25	9
April	26.2 °C	19.7 °C	22.6 °C	36.4 °C	14.2 °C	18	4
May	24.7 °C	17.4 °C	20.7 °C	35.2 °C	10.3 °C	15	1
June	23.1 °C	15.1 °C	18.8 °C	32.5 °C	8.9 °C	8	0
July	22.6 °C	14.6 °C	18.3 °C	32.6 °C	7.0 °C	7	0
August	23.6 °C	15.7 °C	19.3 °C	36.8 °C	10.3 °C	10	2
September	24.7 °C	17.1 °C	20.6 °C	41.7 °C	11.2 °C	14	4
October	25.0 °C	18.2 °C	21.3 °C	38.5 °C	11.9 °C	14	4
November	26.3 °C	19.6 °C	22.6 °C	38.7 °C	13.6 °C	17	6
December	27.9 °C	21.2 °C	24.2 °C	39.4 °C	15.2 °C	23	9

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind	Sea temp
January	110 mm	13	14 h/day	59 %	75 %	25 km/h	25.9 °C
February	99 mm	12	13 h/day	52 %	76 %	23 km/h	26.5 °C
March	98 mm	12	12 h/day	47 %	77 %	23 km/h	26.3 °C
April	82 mm	10	11 h/day	42 %	76 %	23 km/h	25.4 °C
May	59 mm	7	11 h/day	30 %	75 %	21 km/h	24.2 °C
June	40 mm	6	10 h/day	24 %	70 %	22 km/h	22.9 °C
July	47 mm	7	10 h/day	26 %	70 %	23 km/h	22.0 °C
August	40 mm	7	11 h/day	33 %	70 %	25 km/h	21.6 °C
September	57 mm	8	12 h/day	45 %	72 %	26 km/h	21.7 °C
October	81 mm	12	13 h/day	61 %	74 %	27 km/h	22.3 °C
November	92 mm	13	14 h/day	65 %	75 %	26 km/h	23.5 °C
December	91 mm	12	14 h/day	63 %	75 %	25 km/h	24.6 °C

How Richards Bay 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
Richards Bay	29 °C	15 °C	896 mm	202
KwaDukuza · South Africa	28 °C	12 °C	865 mm	173
Durban · South Africa	27 °C	14 °C	838 mm	144
Vryheid · South Africa	26 °C	4.5 °C	880 mm	139
Pietermaritzburg · South Africa	27 °C	6.4 °C	888 mm	158
Newcastle · South Africa	26 °C	3.6 °C	847 mm	152
Mbabane · Eswatini	24 °C	6.5 °C	1,264 mm	101

Where Richards Bay ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
Best beach destinations in Africa in April	21st of 50	84/100
Best beach destinations in Africa in March	21st of 50	82/100
Best beach destinations in Africa in December	32nd of 50	82/100
Best beach destinations in Africa in February	33rd of 50	81/100
Best beach destinations in Africa in May	34th of 50	86/100
Best beach destinations in Africa year-round	36th of 50	80/100

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Richards Bay.

QuestionsCommon questions about Richards Bay’s climate

When is the best time to visit Richards Bay?

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

How hot does Richards Bay get?

In February, the warmest month, daily highs average 29 °C. About 59 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 42 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 15 °C in July, the coldest month. Freezing nights are not part of a normal year here.

Which month is wettest in Richards Bay?

January, averaging 110 mm over 13 days with rain. The driest month is August with 40 mm. The year as a whole averages 896 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 Richards Bay 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: -28.783°, 32.038° (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.