WEATHER AND CLIMATE
Johannesburg has relatively mild weather. The city lies 1 694 metres above sea level
so summer temperatures are not too high and it's latitude means that winter temperatures
do not become too severe. Summer temperatures average between 32 and 15 degrees celcius
while average winter temperatures range between 4 and 20 degrees celcius.
South Africa is relatively dry, experiencing about 460ml of rain per year (just over half the global average). Most areas of the country, including Johannesburg, experience summer rainfall; winter rainfall occurs in the Western Cape.
As the transitional seasons of Spring and Autumn are short and the winter is relatively mild, Johannesburg enjoys pleasant weather all year round. The summer days are long and warm, occasionally punctuated by brief thunderstorms and the winter days are crisp and clear with no cloud cover and no rainfall.
Officially, the meteorological seasons in South Africa are the opposite of those in the northern hemisphere:
Autumn - 1 March 1 to 31 May
Winter - 1 June to 31 August
Spring - 1 September to 30 November
Summer - 1 December to 28 February
However, as the weather is so mild, it often does not correspond to the prescribed conditions. The graph below illustrates average temperatures and precipitation for Johannesburg over 30 years.
(source World Meteorological Organization)
South Africa is relatively dry, experiencing about 460ml of rain per year (just over half the global average). Most areas of the country, including Johannesburg, experience summer rainfall; winter rainfall occurs in the Western Cape.
As the transitional seasons of Spring and Autumn are short and the winter is relatively mild, Johannesburg enjoys pleasant weather all year round. The summer days are long and warm, occasionally punctuated by brief thunderstorms and the winter days are crisp and clear with no cloud cover and no rainfall.
Officially, the meteorological seasons in South Africa are the opposite of those in the northern hemisphere:
Autumn - 1 March 1 to 31 May
Winter - 1 June to 31 August
Spring - 1 September to 30 November
Summer - 1 December to 28 February
However, as the weather is so mild, it often does not correspond to the prescribed conditions. The graph below illustrates average temperatures and precipitation for Johannesburg over 30 years.
(source World Meteorological Organization)
