Richards Bay weather by month & the best time to visit
🇿🇦 South Africa · beach resort · tropical — wet & dry seasons climate
The best time to visit Richards Bay is June — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 90/100), with July and May close behind. Richards Bay averages about 2,540 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 25°C / 77°F and roughly 20 mm of rain in June.
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- Sun hours / year
- 2,540
- Sunniest month
- June
- Peak score
- 90/100
- Rain / year
- 748 mm
- Midday UV at peak
- 11 (extreme)
- Sea at warmest
- 27°C / 81°F
- Population
- 253k
- Elevation
- 27 m
When is the best time to visit Richards Bay?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Richards Bay is June, then July and May. The dullest month is January (75/100, 104 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Richards Bay?
Richards Bay gets a lot of sun: around 2,540 hours a year. Conditions barely change through the year — only 15 Sunshine Score points separate June from January. It ranks #19 of 21 destinations in South Africa for annual sunshine, below the national median of 2,871 hours. Rain has a clear season: the wettest stretch, around December, carries about 41% of the annual 748 mm.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV | Sea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 75 | 32° / 90°F | 21° / 70°F | 104 mm | 11 | 26° / 79°F |
| February | 77 | 32° / 90°F | 21° / 70°F | 92 mm | 11 | 26° / 79°F |
| March | 79 | 31° / 88°F | 20° / 68°F | 80 mm | 9 | 27° / 81°F |
| April | 85 | 29° / 84°F | 18° / 64°F | 47 mm | 6 | 25° / 77°F |
| May | 89 | 27° / 81°F | 15° / 59°F | 27 mm | 5 | 24° / 75°F |
| June | 90 | 25° / 77°F | 13° / 55°F | 20 mm | 3 | 23° / 73°F |
| July | 90 | 25° / 77°F | 12° / 54°F | 23 mm | 4 | 22° / 72°F |
| August | 89 | 27° / 81°F | 13° / 55°F | 26 mm | 5 | 22° / 72°F |
| September | 85 | 28° / 82°F | 15° / 59°F | 50 mm | 6 | 22° / 72°F |
| October | 80 | 29° / 84°F | 17° / 63°F | 78 mm | 7 | 22° / 72°F |
| November | 75 | 30° / 86°F | 18° / 64°F | 100 mm | 9 | 24° / 75°F |
| December | 75 | 31° / 88°F | 20° / 68°F | 101 mm | 10 | 26° / 79°F |
Sea temperature in Richards Bay by month
The sea off Richards Bay is warmest in March at around 27°C / 81°F, and coolest in July at 22°C / 72°F. The water sits at a comfortable 21°C or warmer roughly all year round. Month-by-month sea-surface temperatures are in the Sea column of the table above.
See Richards Bay on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Durban South Africa · 135 km · best in Jun · 2,503 h sun/yr
- Maputo Mozambique · 317 km · best in Jul · 2,689 h sun/yr
- Johannesburg South Africa · 477 km · best in Aug · 3,287 h sun/yr
- Gaborone Botswana · 770 km · best in Jul · 3,481 h sun/yr
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) South Africa · 847 km · best in May · 2,989 h sun/yr
- Harare Zimbabwe · 1,206 km · best in Aug · 3,184 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Mkuze South Africa · 124 km · 2,582 h sun/yr · best in Jun
- Pietermaritzburg South Africa · 193 km · 2,600 h sun/yr · best in Jun
- Mpaka Eswatini · 267 km · 2,644 h sun/yr · best in Jun
- Margate South Africa · 290 km · 2,327 h sun/yr · best in Jun
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