Johannesburg weather by month & the best time to visit
🇿🇦 South Africa · major city break · oceanic / maritime climate
The best time to visit Johannesburg is August — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 97/100), with May and September close behind. Johannesburg averages about 3,287 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 21°C / 70°F and roughly 7 mm of rain in August.
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- Sun hours / year
- 3,287
- Sunniest month
- August
- Peak score
- 97/100
- Rain / year
- 642 mm
- Midday UV at peak
- 12 (extreme)
- Population
- 9.4M
- Elevation
- 1,677 m
When is the best time to visit Johannesburg?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Johannesburg is August, then May and September. The dullest month is June (73/100, 7 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Johannesburg?
Johannesburg is one of the sunniest places on Earth: about 3,287 hours of sunshine a year. August (97/100) is noticeably better than June (73). It ranks #7 of 21 destinations in South Africa for annual sunshine, above the national median of 2,871 hours. Rain has a clear season: the wettest stretch, around December, carries about 53% of the annual 642 mm.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 76 | 27° / 81°F | 14° / 57°F | 122 mm | 12 |
| February | 84 | 27° / 81°F | 14° / 57°F | 82 mm | 12 |
| March | 85 | 26° / 79°F | 12° / 54°F | 73 mm | 10 |
| April | 91 | 23° / 73°F | 9° / 48°F | 43 mm | 8 |
| May | 96 | 20° / 68°F | 5° / 41°F | 16 mm | 6 |
| June | 73 | 17° / 63°F | 1° / 34°F | 7 mm | 5 |
| July | 74 | 17° / 63°F | 1° / 34°F | 3 mm | 5 |
| August | 97 | 21° / 70°F | 4° / 39°F | 7 mm | 6 |
| September | 96 | 25° / 77°F | 8° / 46°F | 16 mm | 8 |
| October | 88 | 27° / 81°F | 11° / 52°F | 57 mm | 10 |
| November | 82 | 27° / 81°F | 12° / 54°F | 89 mm | 11 |
| December | 75 | 27° / 81°F | 14° / 57°F | 127 mm | 12 |
See Johannesburg on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Gaborone Botswana · 293 km · best in Jul · 3,481 h sun/yr
- Maputo Mozambique · 433 km · best in Jul · 2,689 h sun/yr
- Durban South Africa · 478 km · best in Jun · 2,503 h sun/yr
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) South Africa · 909 km · best in May · 2,989 h sun/yr
- Harare Zimbabwe · 959 km · best in Aug · 3,184 h sun/yr
- Windhoek Namibia · 1,165 km · best in Jun · 3,829 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Mmabatho South Africa · 272 km · 3,517 h sun/yr · best in Aug
- Polokwane South Africa · 283 km · 3,098 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Mbombela South Africa · 298 km · 2,686 h sun/yr · best in May
- Hoedspruit South Africa · 345 km · 2,745 h sun/yr · best in Jun
- Mpaka Eswatini · 347 km · 2,644 h sun/yr · best in Jun
Head-to-head
How Johannesburg compares month by month: Johannesburg vs Cape Town · Johannesburg vs Durban · Johannesburg vs Maputo · Johannesburg vs Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) · all comparisons
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