Daily records
Page built 2026-10-19
Data as of 2026-10-17
Search
Built 2026-10-19 (19 October 2026)

Weather Records by Month: South Africa

Record highs in South Africa were most often set in May and record lows in November, with the count by month and record type for all years and for 1996 to 2025.

Data as of . Last revised (2026-10-17).

Key Facts

  • May had the most record highs in South Africa in all years: 1,028 of 11,097 (9.3%).
  • November had the most record lows in South Africa in all years: 751 of 7,769 (9.7%).
  • June had the most record highs in South Africa in 1996 to 2025: 796 of 8,347 (9.5%).
  • November had the most record lows in South Africa in 1996 to 2025: 574 of 6,009 (9.6%).
  • Counts are daily maximum and daily minimum temperature records combined, and are not adjusted for the different lengths of the months.

All Years

Records by month and type
Daily temperature records by month and type, all years, South Africa Count of daily temperature records in South Africa by calendar month and record type, all years. All years: record highs peak in May and record lows in November. Darker cells are the larger counts within a record type. JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec high maximum temperature Record high maximum temperature, Jan: 520 520 Record high maximum temperature, Feb: 533 533 Record high maximum temperature, Mar: 576 576 Record high maximum temperature, Apr: 534 534 Record high maximum temperature, May: 662 662 Record high maximum temperature, Jun: 607 607 Record high maximum temperature, Jul: 604 604 Record high maximum temperature, Aug: 510 510 Record high maximum temperature, Sep: 489 489 Record high maximum temperature, Oct: 582 582 Record high maximum temperature, Nov: 544 544 Record high maximum temperature, Dec: 543 543 low maximum temperature Record low maximum temperature, Jan: 312 312 Record low maximum temperature, Feb: 250 250 Record low maximum temperature, Mar: 297 297 Record low maximum temperature, Apr: 319 319 Record low maximum temperature, May: 296 296 Record low maximum temperature, Jun: 284 284 Record low maximum temperature, Jul: 331 331 Record low maximum temperature, Aug: 288 288 Record low maximum temperature, Sep: 361 361 Record low maximum temperature, Oct: 269 269 Record low maximum temperature, Nov: 344 344 Record low maximum temperature, Dec: 322 322 high minimum temperature Record high minimum temperature, Jan: 400 400 Record high minimum temperature, Feb: 355 355 Record high minimum temperature, Mar: 360 360 Record high minimum temperature, Apr: 339 339 Record high minimum temperature, May: 366 366 Record high minimum temperature, Jun: 386 386 Record high minimum temperature, Jul: 361 361 Record high minimum temperature, Aug: 387 387 Record high minimum temperature, Sep: 322 322 Record high minimum temperature, Oct: 407 407 Record high minimum temperature, Nov: 312 312 Record high minimum temperature, Dec: 398 398 low minimum temperature Record low minimum temperature, Jan: 390 390 Record low minimum temperature, Feb: 277 277 Record low minimum temperature, Mar: 311 311 Record low minimum temperature, Apr: 342 342 Record low minimum temperature, May: 327 327 Record low minimum temperature, Jun: 334 334 Record low minimum temperature, Jul: 373 373 Record low minimum temperature, Aug: 384 384 Record low minimum temperature, Sep: 346 346 Record low minimum temperature, Oct: 327 327 Record low minimum temperature, Nov: 407 407 Record low minimum temperature, Dec: 278 278
Count of daily temperature records in South Africa by calendar month and record type, all years. All years: record highs peak in May and record lows in November. Darker cells are the larger counts within a record type.
Daily temperature records by month and type, all years, South Africa
Record typeJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecTotal
Record high maximum temperature5205335765346626076045104895825445436,704
Record low maximum temperature3122502973192962843312883612693443223,673
Record high minimum temperature4003553603393663863613873224073123984,393
Record low minimum temperature3902773113423273343733843463274072784,096

Latest 30 Years

1996 to 2025
Daily temperature records by month and type, 1996 to 2025, South Africa Count of daily temperature records in South Africa by calendar month and record type, 1996 to 2025. 1996 to 2025: record highs peak in June and record lows in November. Darker cells are the larger counts within a record type. JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec high maximum temperature Record high maximum temperature, Jan: 402 402 Record high maximum temperature, Feb: 408 408 Record high maximum temperature, Mar: 437 437 Record high maximum temperature, Apr: 413 413 Record high maximum temperature, May: 498 498 Record high maximum temperature, Jun: 508 508 Record high maximum temperature, Jul: 498 498 Record high maximum temperature, Aug: 415 415 Record high maximum temperature, Sep: 370 370 Record high maximum temperature, Oct: 498 498 Record high maximum temperature, Nov: 425 425 Record high maximum temperature, Dec: 439 439 low maximum temperature Record low maximum temperature, Jan: 253 253 Record low maximum temperature, Feb: 196 196 Record low maximum temperature, Mar: 224 224 Record low maximum temperature, Apr: 255 255 Record low maximum temperature, May: 241 241 Record low maximum temperature, Jun: 197 197 Record low maximum temperature, Jul: 258 258 Record low maximum temperature, Aug: 209 209 Record low maximum temperature, Sep: 261 261 Record low maximum temperature, Oct: 179 179 Record low maximum temperature, Nov: 257 257 Record low maximum temperature, Dec: 241 241 high minimum temperature Record high minimum temperature, Jan: 283 283 Record high minimum temperature, Feb: 223 223 Record high minimum temperature, Mar: 246 246 Record high minimum temperature, Apr: 210 210 Record high minimum temperature, May: 250 250 Record high minimum temperature, Jun: 288 288 Record high minimum temperature, Jul: 247 247 Record high minimum temperature, Aug: 263 263 Record high minimum temperature, Sep: 208 208 Record high minimum temperature, Oct: 295 295 Record high minimum temperature, Nov: 209 209 Record high minimum temperature, Dec: 314 314 low minimum temperature Record low minimum temperature, Jan: 304 304 Record low minimum temperature, Feb: 235 235 Record low minimum temperature, Mar: 228 228 Record low minimum temperature, Apr: 275 275 Record low minimum temperature, May: 270 270 Record low minimum temperature, Jun: 243 243 Record low minimum temperature, Jul: 283 283 Record low minimum temperature, Aug: 309 309 Record low minimum temperature, Sep: 286 286 Record low minimum temperature, Oct: 266 266 Record low minimum temperature, Nov: 317 317 Record low minimum temperature, Dec: 222 222
Count of daily temperature records in South Africa by calendar month and record type, 1996 to 2025. 1996 to 2025: record highs peak in June and record lows in November. Darker cells are the larger counts within a record type.
Daily temperature records by month and type, 1996 to 2025, South Africa
Record typeJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecTotal
Record high maximum temperature4024084374134985084984153704984254395,311
Record low maximum temperature2531962242552411972582092611792572412,771
Record high minimum temperature2832232462102502882472632082952093143,036
Record low minimum temperature3042352282752702432833092862663172223,238

Highs and Lows by Month

Record highs and record lows by calendar month, all years and 1996 to 2025, South Africa
MonthHighs, all yearsLows, all yearsHighs, 1996 to 2025Lows, 1996 to 2025
January920702685557
February888527631431
March936608683452
April873661623530
May1,028623748511
June993618796440
July965704745541
August897672678518
September811707578547
October989596793445
November856751634574
December941600753463

What the Counts Mean

Each count is a daily temperature record in that calendar month: a daily maximum or daily minimum that went past the earlier record at that station for the same day of the year. Record highs combine the daily maximum and the daily minimum.

Months differ in length, so a month with more days has more chances for a record. The counts are not adjusted for that. The latest 30 years are 1996 to 2025. The two spans come from different numbers of stations and years, so compare the shape across months and not the totals.

Download the Data

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Climatology Network Daily (GHCN-Daily). Records are computed by World Extreme Weather Monitor and are not official NOAA products. (US Government open data (NOAA NCEI)) Data as of 2026-10-17. Records are computed by this site from daily maximum and minimum temperature.