Cape Town Sunshine Hours by Month

To truly understand a climate, we must look at its sunshine. This page shows the total number of hours of direct sunlight per month and the average hours per day in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. The numbers reflect climate data gathered over a 30-year period, from 1990 to 2020.

Monthly hours of sunshine

Sunshine in Cape Town varies greatly throughout the year. The sunniest month, January, reaches an impressive 338 hours, while June, the darkest month, offers only 175 hours. The total annual amount of sun is 3094 hours.

Daily hours of sunshine

Seasonal changes in sunshine hours are quite obvious in Cape Town. While January receives considerable daily sunshine with up to 11.3 hours, June marks the darkest time of the year, where sunshine is scarce with only 5.8 hours of sunlight per day.

Cape Town enjoys an average of 3094 hours of sunshine annually. Let’s compare this with some popular tourist destinations:

Athens, Greece, enjoys 2769 hours of sunshine each year, making it one of the sunniest destinations in the Mediterranean region.

In contrast, Tromsø , Norway, receives only about 1270 hours of sunshine per year, known for the polar night with no sunlight for weeks during winter.

Boston, USA, enjoys 2629 hours of sunshine annually, with distinct seasons and many bright, sunny days.

Melbourne, Australia, has 2380 hours of sunshine annually, with its famous “four seasons in a day” weather pattern.

June, Cape Town’s wettest month, receives 19 mm (0.7 in) of rainfall and has a maximum daytime temperature of 18°C (64°F). During the driest month February you can expect a temperature of 25°C (77°F).

For more detailed insights into the city’s temperatures, check out our Temperature page. To explore more about precipitation patterns, visit our Cape Town Precipitation page.