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Richards Bay, South Africa climate
Cfa Humid subtropical
Richards Bay has a mildly seasonal warm-temperate climate (Humid subtropical, Köppen Cfa). The hottest month is February with an average daily high near 30°C, while the coldest is July averaging around 11°C at night. Precipitation totals about 1030 mm a year and is strongly seasonal — January alone averages 128 mm while May barely receives 27 mm.
Temperature & precipitation
Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figuresClear vs cloudy days
Share of days each month that are clear, partly cloudy or cloudy · 1991–2020 · hover a month for the day countsRichards Bay climate normals (1991–2020)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 29 | 30 | 29 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 28 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 24 |
| Avg low (°C) | 21 | 21 | 20 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 20 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 128 | 118 | 120 | 115 | 27 | 31 | 63 | 36 | 52 | 106 | 119 | 116 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 29 | 30 | 29 | 27 | 26 | 25 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 20 | 18 |
| Avg low (°C) | 21 | 21 | 20 | 17 | 14 | 11 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 128 | 118 | 120 | 115 | 27 | 31 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 28 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 17 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 24 |
| Avg low (°C) | 11 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 20 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 63 | 36 | 52 | 106 | 119 | 116 |
How often — frequency of weather events
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 13 | 11 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 14 | 16 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | — | — | — | — | — | 0.1 | — | — | 0.0 | — | — | — |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 13 | 11 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | — | — | — | — | — | 0.1 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 5 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 14 | 16 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | — | — | 0.0 | — | — | — |
Sky & atmosphere
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 73 | 69 | 63 | 55 | 44 | 39 | 37 | 46 | 56 | 70 | 76 | 76 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 9 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 20 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 20 | 21 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 82 | 81 | 80 | 77 | 73 | 69 | 70 | 74 | 78 | 80 | 81 | 83 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 12.9 | 12.2 | 12.3 | 12.5 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 12.1 | 13.4 | 13.6 | 14.2 | 13.7 | 13.1 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 73 | 69 | 63 | 55 | 44 | 39 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 15 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 9 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 10 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 20 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 5 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 82 | 81 | 80 | 77 | 73 | 69 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 12.9 | 12.2 | 12.3 | 12.5 | 11.7 | 11.7 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 37 | 46 | 56 | 70 | 76 | 76 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 16 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 5 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 20 | 21 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 70 | 74 | 78 | 80 | 81 | 83 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 12.1 | 13.4 | 13.6 | 14.2 | 13.7 | 13.1 |
Methodology & sources
Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 28 years of daily observations at Durban Intl, a weather station, about 169 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.