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Polokwane, South Africa climate

BSh Hot semi-arid

Polokwane has a mildly seasonal warm-temperate climate (Hot semi-arid, Köppen BSh). The hottest month is January with an average daily high near 86°F, while the coldest is July averaging around 40°F at night. Precipitation totals about 23 inches a year and is strongly seasonal — January alone averages 4.5 inches while June barely receives 0.03 inches.

☀️ Summers

Warm

Highs near 86°F in January.

About 41 days a year above 90 °F

❄️ Winters

Chilly

Lows near 40°F in July.

About 2 freezing nights a year

🌧️ Rain

Moderate rainfall

About 23 in of rain a year.

Wettest in January

⛅ Sky & trend

Fairly sunny

More sun than cloud through the year.

+0.4 °F vs 50 years ago

Temperature & precipitation

Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figures

Clear vs cloudy days

Share of days each month that are clear, partly cloudy or cloudy · 1991–2020 · hover a month for the day counts

Polokwane climate normals (1991–2020)

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high (°F)	86	85	83	80	76	71	71	76	82	84	84	85
Avg temp (°F)	74	73	72	67	61	56	56	60	66	70	72	74
Avg low (°F)	63	62	60	54	46	41	40	44	51	57	60	62
Precipitation (in)	4.5	4.3	3.1	0.6	0.5	0.0	0.1	0.2	0.1	1.4	3.9	3.7

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Avg high (°F)	86	85	83	80	76	71
Avg temp (°F)	74	73	72	67	61	56
Avg low (°F)	63	62	60	54	46	41
Precipitation (in)	4.5	4.3	3.1	0.6	0.5	0.0

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high (°F)	71	76	82	84	84	85
Avg temp (°F)	56	60	66	70	72	74
Avg low (°F)	40	44	51	57	60	62
Precipitation (in)	0.1	0.2	0.1	1.4	3.9	3.7

How often — frequency of weather events

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Days with measurable rain (days)	11	9	8	5	3	2	1	0.8	2	7	12	11
Days with high ≥ 90°F (days)	7	5	3	0.9	0.1	—	—	0.1	4	8	7	6
Days with low ≤ 32°F (days)	—	—	—	—	0.2	0.3	2	0.4	—	—	—	—

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Days with measurable rain (days)	11	9	8	5	3	2
Days with high ≥ 90°F (days)	7	5	3	0.9	0.1	—
Days with low ≤ 32°F (days)	—	—	—	—	0.2	0.3

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Days with measurable rain (days)	1	0.8	2	7	12	11
Days with high ≥ 90°F (days)	—	0.1	4	8	7	6
Days with low ≤ 32°F (days)	2	0.4	—	—	—	—

Sky & atmosphere

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cloud cover (%)	60	57	54	45	30	26	28	28	35	48	62	64
Clear days (≤ 30% cloud)	5	6	7	11	17	19	18	19	15	10	5	5
Partly cloudy days (30–70%)	13	13	15	13	11	8	10	9	10	11	10	11
Cloudy days (≥ 70%)	13	10	9	7	3	3	3	4	5	9	14	15
Relative humidity (%)	65	66	66	63	56	56	55	49	45	52	58	63
Wind speed (mph)	5.5	5.4	4.8	4.5	4.2	4.5	4.8	5.7	6.7	7.2	6.3	5.5

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Cloud cover (%)	60	57	54	45	30	26
Clear days (≤ 30% cloud)	5	6	7	11	17	19
Partly cloudy days (30–70%)	13	13	15	13	11	8
Cloudy days (≥ 70%)	13	10	9	7	3	3
Relative humidity (%)	65	66	66	63	56	56
Wind speed (mph)	5.5	5.4	4.8	4.5	4.2	4.5

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cloud cover (%)	28	28	35	48	62	64
Clear days (≤ 30% cloud)	18	19	15	10	5	5
Partly cloudy days (30–70%)	10	9	10	11	10	11
Cloudy days (≥ 70%)	3	4	5	9	14	15
Relative humidity (%)	55	49	45	52	58	63
Wind speed (mph)	4.8	5.7	6.7	7.2	6.3	5.5

Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 14 years of daily observations at Polokwane, a weather station, about 5 km from the city centre. The underlying daily records come from NOAA's global station network.

Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.

How we build these numbers →