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Quito vs Cape Town
Comparing Quito change · Cape Town change
Quito is the warmer of the two — about 1°C on the annual average; Quito is the wetter, with 2537 mm more rain a year, and Cape Town the sunnier.
How the seasons compare
The differences between Quito and Cape Town, in everyday terms.
Summers
Cape Town has hotter summers
Quito: Mild
Cape Town: Warm
Winters
Quito has much milder winters
Quito: Mild
Cape Town: Cool
Rain & snow
Quito is much wetter
Quito: Very wet
Cape Town: Fairly dry
Sky
Cape Town is far sunnier
Quito: Often grey
Cape Town: Fairly sunny
Month-by-month charts
Temperature
Quito is the warmer of the two — about 1°C on the annual average.
Precipitation
Quito is the wetter — about 2537 mm more across the year.
Clear skies
Cape Town has the clearer skies — the higher line.
Exact monthly numbers
Tap a metric to open its full table. Desktop shows all twelve months; on a phone each metric splits into Jan–Jun and Jul–Dec.
Avg high (°C) Varies through the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quito | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 23 | 22 |
| Cape Town | 28 | 28 | 27 | 25 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 23 | 25 | 27 |
| Difference | +6 | +6 | +5 | +2 | -2 | -5 | -6 | -6 | -4 | — | +2 | +4 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quito | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 24 |
| Cape Town | 28 | 28 | 27 | 25 | 21 | 19 |
| Difference | +6 | +6 | +5 | +2 | -2 | -5 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quito | 24 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 23 | 22 |
| Cape Town | 18 | 19 | 20 | 23 | 25 | 27 |
| Difference | -6 | -6 | -4 | — | +2 | +4 |
Avg low (°C) Varies through the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quito | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Cape Town | 16 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 |
| Difference | +3 | +2 | — | -3 | -4 | -5 | -5 | -5 | -4 | -2 | — | +2 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quito | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 |
| Cape Town | 16 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 7 |
| Difference | +3 | +2 | — | -3 | -4 | -5 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quito | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Cape Town | 7 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 |
| Difference | -5 | -5 | -4 | -2 | — | +2 |
Precipitation (mm) Quito runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quito | 294 | 281 | 334 | 329 | 270 | 166 | 126 | 129 | 219 | 286 | 303 | 309 |
| Cape Town | 6 | 16 | 18 | 57 | 81 | 90 | 79 | 59 | 31 | 41 | 19 | 12 |
| Difference | -289 | -265 | -316 | -272 | -189 | -77 | -47 | -70 | -188 | -244 | -284 | -297 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quito | 294 | 281 | 334 | 329 | 270 | 166 |
| Cape Town | 6 | 16 | 18 | 57 | 81 | 90 |
| Difference | -289 | -265 | -316 | -272 | -189 | -77 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quito | 126 | 129 | 219 | 286 | 303 | 309 |
| Cape Town | 79 | 59 | 31 | 41 | 19 | 12 |
| Difference | -47 | -70 | -188 | -244 | -284 | -297 |
Cloud cover (%) Quito runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quito | 81 | 84 | 88 | 85 | 81 | 75 | 72 | 71 | 75 | 81 | 81 | 81 |
| Cape Town | 26 | 26 | 28 | 33 | 41 | 42 | 38 | 42 | 42 | 37 | 35 | 30 |
| Difference | -55 | -58 | -60 | -52 | -40 | -33 | -33 | -29 | -33 | -44 | -46 | -51 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quito | 81 | 84 | 88 | 85 | 81 | 75 |
| Cape Town | 26 | 26 | 28 | 33 | 41 | 42 |
| Difference | -55 | -58 | -60 | -52 | -40 | -33 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quito | 72 | 71 | 75 | 81 | 81 | 81 |
| Cape Town | 38 | 42 | 42 | 37 | 35 | 30 |
| Difference | -33 | -29 | -33 | -44 | -46 | -51 |
Relative humidity (%) Quito runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quito | 86 | 87 | 87 | 86 | 84 | 81 | 78 | 75 | 76 | 80 | 82 | 84 |
| Cape Town | 65 | 66 | 68 | 71 | 76 | 80 | 82 | 82 | 81 | 76 | 71 | 67 |
| Difference | -21 | -21 | -19 | -15 | -8 | -1 | +4 | +7 | +4 | -4 | -11 | -17 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quito | 86 | 87 | 87 | 86 | 84 | 81 |
| Cape Town | 65 | 66 | 68 | 71 | 76 | 80 |
| Difference | -21 | -21 | -19 | -15 | -8 | -1 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quito | 78 | 75 | 76 | 80 | 82 | 84 |
| Cape Town | 82 | 82 | 81 | 76 | 71 | 67 |
| Difference | +4 | +7 | +4 | -4 | -11 | -17 |
How both climates are changing
Both cities are warming. Each city has its own warming trend; see its trends page for the year-by-year detail. Quito trends → · Cape Town trends →
Methodology & sources
Quito
Temperature & precipitation — modelled for this location from ERA5-Land reanalysis, a ~9 km global grid, because no long-record weather station is close enough to use.
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.
Cape Town
Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 25 years of daily observations at Cape Town Intl, a weather station, about 17 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.
← change Quito · change Cape Town → · Quito page · Cape Town page