South Africa’s weather and climate

Source: www.southafrica.info

South Africa’s warm temperate conditions and subtropical location make South Africa a perennial favourite amongst international (and local!) visitors alike. A relatively dry country, with an average annual rainfall of about 464mm (compared to a world average of about 860mm), South Africa is famous for its sunshine.

Summer

South Africa’s summer months are mid–October to mid–February and are characterised by hot, sunny weather .

Autumn

Autumn (fall) in South Africa (mid-February to April) offers in some ways the best weather. Very little rain falls over the whole country, and it is warm but not too hot, getting colder as the season progresses.

Winter

Winter in South Africa is from May to July and is characterised in the higher-lying areas by dry, sunny, crisp days and cold nights, with the lower-lying areas offering fantastic winter weather with sunny, warmish days and virtually no wind or rain. The high mountains of the Cape and the Drakensberg in KwaZulu-Natal usually get snow in winter.

Spring

Nowhere in South Africa is spring (August to mid-October) more spectacular than in the Cape provinces. Here the grey winter is forgotten as thousands of small, otherwise insignificant plants cover the plains in an iridescent carpet of flowers.