South Africa: a land for all seasons
Because South Africa lies south of the equator, its seasons are the reverse of those of the northern hemisphere. Summer is therefore between October and March, winter between April and September. South Africa’s climate is generally dry, warm and moderate due to its position between the cold Benguela Current on the Atlantic Ocean side, and the warm Agulhus Current on the Indian Ocean side. The Cape has a winter rainfall, while the interior has a summer rainfall.

Autumn is generally the best time of the year in any part of the country. If you wish to visit the Kruger National Park and other game reserves in the east or north-east of the country, you may find winter or spring the best times, since the bush is not so dense, water is scarce and animals tend to come to the watering points to drink.

Strictly speaking, winter runs from May to July, the climate is at its best at this time in most part of the country and summer from November to January. It rains in the Cape in winter and the rest of the country in summer, it at all.

In April and May, autumn brings warm days and cool nights. The climate is at its best in autumn in most parts of the country. Autumn and spring are the best seasons for hiking. From the beginning of June to the August, you can expect cold conditions in most of the country, and rain in the western cape. Snow sometimes falls on the Drakensberg and the cape mountains in winter. Be prepared for some sudden and heavy late afternoon showers in Gauteng in summer. 
.
Temperature
Compared with other regions of similar geographical latitudes (i.e. the Australian Outback) South Africa’s temperatures are rather mild and constant. South Africa stretches over 13 latitudes, with Pretoria considerably closer to the tropics than Cape Town. It could be expected that the former would be significantly warmer than the latter. Yet, due to its high altitude (1,363 m above sea level), Pretoria has only a 0.5°C higher average annual temperature than Cape Town.

Due to the warm Indian Ocean current, (Benguela current) Durban’s annual temperature average is 6°c above that of Port Nolloth’s, which has similar latitude, but lies on the Atlantic coast. The interior, especially the Great Karoo, the Free State province and the Kalahari - often record temperatures of over 30° C. The day vs. night and summer vs. winter temperature variations are very distinct. In these areas, as well as in the mountain ranges, frost is experienced during the cold winter nights.

Average maximum temperatures in degrees (Celsius)

Rainfall
Water is a major concern in South Africa. Compared with the global annual average of 857mm of rainfall, South Africa receives a mere 464mm a year. A quarter of the country has less than 200mm annually, 65 per cent of South Africa has less than the minimum of 500 mm needed for agriculture. The arid areas of South Africa stretch endlessly towards the north and west. Short heavy thundershowers in summer are common in the east, the Kruger Park and Drakensberg areas. The southwest, Western Cape and Cape Town have winter rainfall similar to that in the Mediterranean. A narrow belt along the south coast right up to the Garden Route has rainfall all year round. During the cold winters, there is enough snow in the Drakensberg to go skiing, while there is regularly light snowfall in the Western Cape Mountains.

Humidity
The majority of the interior experiences extreme humidity, while at the foot of the great
escarpment there is high rainfall and fog. In summer, the fog from the Atlantic moves up to 50 km inland at night and then clears up during the day as it gets warmer. Extremely humid conditions prevail in the sub-tropical coastal region of KwaZulu-Natal where temperatures reach the 40°C mark. 

Sunshine
Cape Town has an annual average sunshine of 8.6 hours a day, as compared with 7.9 hours in Madrid, 6.5 in Rome or 5.3 in London. This abundance of sunshine is due to high-pressure zones of the Indian and the Atlantic Oceans. As in all similar countries situated within these latitudes South Africa experiences very short dusks and dawns.

Top^