Maputsoe climate — normals and trends
Maputsoe (Lesotho) has a subtropical highland, dry winter climate (Cwb) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 12.5 °C and it receives 1,083 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is January (18.1 °C on average) and the coldest is July (5.0 °C). Rainfall peaks in December.
Maputsoe averages 67 frost days, 2 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 130 rainy days per year.
Maputsoe has warmed by +1.5 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.18 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The hottest day of the period reached 37.6 °C (on 6 January 2016) and the coldest -11.8 °C (on 1 July 1994).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
MaputsoeLeribe
- coords
- -28.89°, 27.90°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
12.5°C
Average daily high
19.8°C
Average daily low
6.4°C
Annual rainfall
1,083mm
Sunshine / day
10.9h
Mean relative humidity
64%
Average peak wind
12.6km/h
Seasonal range
13.1°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
67 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
2 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
130 d/yr
Annual snowfall
2.9 cm
Average feels-like high
18.9 °C
Average feels-like low
4.1 °C
Average peak gust
32.7 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
0 d/yr
Solar radiation
20.3 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+1.5 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.40 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
37.6 °C
6 January 2016
Coldest day
-11.8 °C
1 July 1994
Wettest day
68 mm
2 November 1942
Windiest day
38.8 km/h
23 September 1941
Strongest gust
84.2 km/h
18 September 2004
Hottest feels-like
35.8 °C
6 January 2016
Coldest feels-like
-16.3 °C
1 July 1994
Snowiest day
17.5 cm
2 August 2006
Sunniest day
13.8 h
19 December 2025
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25.9 °C | +1.7 °C | 100 mm | -61 mm |
| Feb | 25.0 °C | +1.5 °C | 105 mm | -27 mm |
| Mar | 23.3 °C | +1.1 °C | 133 mm | +14 mm |
| Apr | 18.6 °C | -0.7 °C | 298 mm | +217 mm |
| May | 18.0 °C | +1.4 °C | 22 mm | -17 mm |
| Jun | 14.4 °C | +0.7 °C | 34 mm | +13 mm |
| Jul | 14.1 °C | +0.3 °C | 23 mm | +8 mm |
| Aug | 18.3 °C | +1.9 °C | 17 mm | -11 mm |
| Sep | 20.4 °C | +0.3 °C | 91 mm | +44 mm |
| Oct | 21.8 °C | +0.2 °C | 130 mm | +9 mm |
| Nov | 21.2 °C | -1.2 °C | 197 mm | +39 mm |
| Dec | 23.3 °C | -0.3 °C | 157 mm | -4 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Maputsoe?
Maputsoe has a subtropical highland, dry winter climate (Köppen Cwb). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 12.5 °C and it receives 1,083 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Maputsoe?
The hottest day measured in Maputsoe between 1940 and 2025 was 6 January 2016, reaching 37.6 °C.
What is the coldest day in Maputsoe?
The coldest day measured in Maputsoe between 1940 and 2025 was 1 July 1994, at -11.8 °C.
Does it snow in Maputsoe?
Yes. Maputsoe gets on average 2.9 cm of snow per year and has around 67 frost days.
Has the climate of Maputsoe warmed?
Yes: Maputsoe warmed by +1.5 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Maputsoe?
The wettest day measured in Maputsoe between 1940 and 2025 was 2 November 1942, with 68 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Maputsoe?
The windiest day measured in Maputsoe between 1940 and 2025 was 23 September 1941, with winds reaching 38.8 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Maputsoe?
The warmest month in Maputsoe is January (18.1 °C on average); the coldest is July (5.0 °C).
How much does it rain in Maputsoe?
Maputsoe receives on average 1,083 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 130 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Maputsoe?
Maputsoe gets on average 10.9 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,979 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Maputsoe?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Maputsoe between 1940 and 2025 was 2 August 2006, with 17.5 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Maputsoe?
Almost never: tropical nights (temperature staying above 20 °C) are virtually non-existent in Maputsoe.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Maputsoe?
In Maputsoe, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 35.8 °C on 6 January 2016, and the lowest was -16.3 °C on 1 July 1994.
Compare Maputsoe with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Maputsoe