South Africa weather in January

Planning a journey to South Africa this January and curious over the weather conditions to await? Your essential details are found on this page, answering your query:

What is the weather like in South Africa in January?

The weather in South Africa in January can be quite varied, with temperatures that range from pleasant to very warm and precipitation levels ranging from low to heavy.

The average maximum daytime temperatures vary from pleasant in Paternoster at 21°C to very warm in Keimoes at 37°C. Nighttime temperatures generally drop to 22°C in Keimoes and 17°C in Paternoster.

In January, precipitation varies across different areas. From low rainfall in Port Nolloth with an average of 5.4 mm to heavy rainfall in Bonjaneni with 373 mm. The city Cape Town usually sees around 338 hours of sunlight, indicating many sunny days.

For a closer look at January's conditions in South Africa, see the map below. For a more detailed look at South Africa's yearly weather, check out our South Africa climate page.

Where to go in South Africa in January

Find the average weather conditions in January for the most popular destinations in South Africa on the map below. Click on a destination dot for more detailed information.

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Legend perfect weather pleasant tolerable unpleasant poor
Perfect weather is subjective. On this map perfect weather has been defined with temperatures between 20°C and 29°C and not too much precipitation (less than 90 mm a month).

Popular destinations in South Africa

What is the weather like in January for the 5 most popular destinations in South Africa?

Average weather in Cape Town

In January Cape Town generally has high temperatures with maximum daytime temperatures around 25°C, minimum nighttime temperatures around 18°C and low monthly rainfall. So on average the conditions are perfect that month.

Cape Town
minimum temparatureMax temperature minimum temparatureMax temp
maximum temparatureMin temperature maximum temparatureMin temp
sun hoursMonthly sun hours sun hoursSun hours
precipitationMonthly rainfall precipitationRainfall
rain daysMonthly rainy days rain daysRainy days
conditionsWeather conditions conditionsWeather
24°C 
16°C 
334 hours 
22 mm 
6 days 
25°C 
18°C 
338 hours 
20 mm 
5 days 
25°C 
18°C 
297 hours 
19 mm 
4 days 
Climate in Cape Town

Average weather in Johannesburg

In January Johannesburg generally has high temperatures with maximum daytime temperatures around 27°C, minimum nighttime temperatures around 16°C and high monthly rainfall. So on average the conditions are pleasant that month.

Johannesburg
minimum temparatureMax temperature minimum temparatureMax temp
maximum temparatureMin temperature maximum temparatureMin temp
sun hoursMonthly sun hours sun hoursSun hours
precipitationMonthly rainfall precipitationRainfall
rain daysMonthly rainy days rain daysRainy days
conditionsWeather conditions conditionsWeather
27°C 
16°C 
264 hours 
140 mm 
14 days 
27°C 
16°C 
250 hours 
133 mm 
14 days 
27°C 
16°C 
225 hours 
123 mm 
11 days 
Climate in Johannesburg

Average weather in Durban

In January Durban generally has high temperatures with maximum daytime temperatures around 28°C, minimum nighttime temperatures around 22°C and moderate monthly rainfall. So on average the conditions are perfect that month.

Durban
minimum temparatureMax temperature minimum temparatureMax temp
maximum temparatureMin temperature maximum temparatureMin temp
sun hoursMonthly sun hours sun hoursSun hours
precipitationMonthly rainfall precipitationRainfall
rain daysMonthly rainy days rain daysRainy days
conditionsWeather conditions conditionsWeather
27°C 
21°C 
190 hours 
98 mm 
15 days 
28°C 
22°C 
183 hours 
95 mm 
14 days 
28°C 
22°C 
179 hours 
99 mm 
13 days 
Climate in Durban

Average weather in Knysna

In January Knysna generally has high temperatures with maximum daytime temperatures around 24°C, minimum nighttime temperatures around 18°C and moderate monthly rainfall. So on average the conditions are perfect that month.

Knysna
minimum temparatureMax temperature minimum temparatureMax temp
maximum temparatureMin temperature maximum temparatureMin temp
sun hoursMonthly sun hours sun hoursSun hours
precipitationMonthly rainfall precipitationRainfall
rain daysMonthly rainy days rain daysRainy days
conditionsWeather conditions conditionsWeather
23°C 
17°C 
345 hours 
51 mm 
11 days 
24°C 
18°C 
320 hours 
52 mm 
10 days 
24°C 
18°C 
300 hours 
50 mm 
10 days 
Climate in Knysna

Average weather in Stellenbosch

In January Stellenbosch generally has high temperatures with maximum daytime temperatures around 28°C, minimum nighttime temperatures around 17°C and low monthly rainfall. So on average the conditions are perfect that month.

Stellenbosch
minimum temparatureMax temperature minimum temparatureMax temp
maximum temparatureMin temperature maximum temparatureMin temp
sun hoursMonthly sun hours sun hoursSun hours
precipitationMonthly rainfall precipitationRainfall
rain daysMonthly rainy days rain daysRainy days
conditionsWeather conditions conditionsWeather
26°C 
15°C 
334 hours 
28 mm 
6 days 
28°C 
17°C 
338 hours 
25 mm 
5 days 
28°C 
17°C 
297 hours 
23 mm 
4 days 
Climate in Stellenbosch

Is your destination not in the list? Have a look at other destinations in South Africa.

Is January the best time to visit South Africa?

We consider January to be one of the best times to travel to South Africa. Typically, the climate in Cape Town is perfect.

On average, the best time to visit South Africa is in January, February, March, April, May, October, November and December with generally perfect weather in Cape Town. The weather in July, on the other hand, tends to be unpleasant.

Interested in more climate information?

We have much more information about the climate in South Africa. Interested in the weather conditions in a specific month? Select the month below.

  • January      
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  • Weather and climate has detailed information for every country in the world. Are you going to South Africa? Get detailed historical weather averages for many cities in South Africa.

    Not sure yet where to go? We now have a tool which recommends destinations that suit your ideal climate conditions. Find out where to go with our weather planner.