Cape Town Temperature by Month
Cape Town in Western Cape, South Africa sees moderate seasonal temperature shifts, with daytime highs between 17°C (63°F) in July and 25°C (77°F) in February, averaging 21°C (70°F) annually. Explore the full monthly breakdown below.
Cape Town Monthly Temperatures
The weather in Cape Town changes moderately throughout the year, offering enough variation to appreciate each season. Nights are cooler, with lows ranging from 18°C (64°F) to 10°C (50°F).
The chart below illustrates the average maximum day and minimum night temperatures in Cape Town by month:
The coolest part of the day is typically between 4 AM and 6 AM, while 3 PM is usually the warmest, when solar heating is at its peak. February, the city's warmest month, averages 297 hours of sunshine.
The chart below shows the average temperature throughout the year:
Daily Historical Temperatures
50-year average (1976-2025)
Average high and low temperatures for each day of the month based on long-term records.
Average temperatures in July
Historical Cape Town Temperatures: 1976-2026
Browse day-by-day temperature records for Cape Town spanning 51 years. Select any month and year to see actual high and low temperatures recorded on each day.
Temperature: Cape Town vs South Africa
The map below shows the annual temperature across South Africa. You can also select individual months if you want to compare a specific time of year.
very warm
warm
pleasant
moderate
cold
very cold
Cape Town vs World: Temperature Compared
Cape Town's average annual maximum temperature is 21°C (70°F). To put that in context, here's how it compares to a few well-known destinations:
Seville, Spain averages 23°C (73°F) a year — one of the warmer cities in Western Europe, with long hot summers.
Zermatt, Switzerland averages just 4°C (39°F) annually due to its altitude, with very cold winters and cool summers even at its warmest.
Chicago, USA averages 15°C (59°F) annually — known for extreme seasonal swings, from bitterly cold winters to warm summers.
Tokyo, Japan averages 21°C (70°F) a year, with hot summers, cool winters, and a well-defined cherry blossom spring.
What Does the Temperature Feel Like in Cape Town?
Temperature alone doesn't tell the whole story — humidity plays a big role in how warm or cold it actually feels. High humidity in summer makes the heat feel more intense, particularly once temperatures climb above 25°C. In winter, the same humidity can make cold air feel sharper than the thermometer suggests.
In Cape Town, July is the coolest month, with average highs of 17°C (63°F) and humidity around 81% — considered very high. In February, the warmest month, temperatures average 25°C (77°F) with 72% humidity — conditions that feel high. For a full picture, see our humidity page.
Climate temperature data is typically calculated as a 30-year average. This smooths out year-to-year variability and gives a more reliable picture of what a place is actually like, rather than what happened in any single unusual year.
The readings come from a range of sources — land-based weather stations, ocean buoys, ships, and satellites. That data is collected by weather services around the world, then pooled, quality-checked, and averaged to produce the climate records you see here.
Seasonal temperature shifts influence more than just how warm it feels — they also drive changes in rainfall, cloud cover, and wind patterns throughout the year.
Warmer air holds more moisture, which tends to mean heavier or more frequent rain during the warmer months. When temperatures drop in winter, any precipitation that does fall is more likely to come as snow or sleet, though in Cape Town this rarely lasts long on the ground.
For more on Cape Town's weather — including monthly rainfall, sunshine hours, and humidity — visit our Cape Town climate page.
