Climate in Cape Town (Western Cape, South Africa)

The best time of year to visit Cape Town in South Africa

Cape Town, Mother City of Africa, and the Western Cape has a Mediterranean climate. This means it experiences hot summers and mild and rainy winters. In winter most months have more than one hundred millimeters (3.9 inch) of precipitation.

In summer months (December to March) it is warm, sunny and dry in Cape Town. For many, this is the ideal time to visit the Cape. Also because the heat is combined with relative low precipitation, this means the humidity is not too high.

During the months of April, October, November and December you are most likely to experience good weather with pleasant average temperatures that fall between 20 degrees Celsius (68°F) and 26 degrees Celsius (79°F).

Other facts from our historical climate data:

When is summer in Cape Town?
The hottest season / summer takes place in January, February, March and December.

Which is the warmest month in Cape Town?
February has an average maximum temperature of 28°C (82°F) and is the warmest month of the year.

Which is the coldest month in Cape Town?
The coldest month is July with an average maximum temperature of 17°C (62°F).

Which is the wettest month in Cape Town?
July tops the wettest month list with 132mm (5.2in) of rainfall.

Which is the driest month in Cape Town?
February is the driest month with 18mm (0.7in) of precipitation.

Which is the sunniest month in Cape Town?
January is the sunniest month with an average of 338 hours of sunshine.

No idea where to travel to this year? We now have a tool which suggests which destination suits your ideal climate conditions. Find out where to go with our weather planner.