Qacha's Nek climate — normals and trends
Qacha's Nek (Lesotho) has a subtropical highland, dry winter climate (Cwb) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 11.4 °C and it receives 913 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 (16.5 °C on average) and the coldest is June (4.4 °C). Rainfall peaks in January.
Qacha's Nek averages 78 frost days, 1 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 130 rainy days per year.
Qacha's Nek has warmed by +1.9 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.22 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 88 to 68 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 34.3 °C (on 11 December 2015) and the coldest -23.1 °C (on 26 June 1964).
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
Qacha's NekQacha's Nek District
- coords
- -30.12°, 28.69°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
11.4°C
Average daily high
19.0°C
Average daily low
5.2°C
Annual rainfall
913mm
Sunshine / day
10.7h
Mean relative humidity
62%
Average peak wind
14.4km/h
Seasonal range
12.1°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
78 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
1 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
130 d/yr
Annual snowfall
21.5 cm
Average feels-like high
17.0 °C
Average feels-like low
2.7 °C
Average peak gust
40.4 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
0 d/yr
Solar radiation
19.7 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+1.9 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.46 · 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
34.3 °C
11 December 2015
Coldest day
-23.1 °C
26 June 1964
Wettest day
99 mm
29 September 1987
Windiest day
37.9 km/h
16 May 1984
Strongest gust
114.1 km/h
20 October 1941
Hottest feels-like
33.5 °C
6 January 2016
Coldest feels-like
-28.7 °C
26 June 1964
Snowiest day
32.2 cm
28 September 1987
Sunniest day
13.9 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 | 24.2 °C | +1.2 °C | 177 mm | +19 mm |
| Feb | 22.8 °C | +0.4 °C | 181 mm | +45 mm |
| Mar | 22.0 °C | +0.8 °C | 162 mm | +57 mm |
| Apr | 17.8 °C | -0.9 °C | 148 mm | +97 mm |
| May | 17.9 °C | +1.7 °C | 9 mm | -14 mm |
| Jun | 14.0 °C | +0.5 °C | 28 mm | +14 mm |
| Jul | 13.9 °C | +0.4 °C | 21 mm | +8 mm |
| Aug | 17.7 °C | +1.8 °C | 21 mm | -2 mm |
| Sep | 19.7 °C | +0.4 °C | 50 mm | +10 mm |
| Oct | 21.3 °C | +0.7 °C | 88 mm | -1 mm |
| Nov | 20.6 °C | -0.9 °C | 140 mm | +24 mm |
| Dec | 22.9 °C | +0.2 °C | 173 mm | +27 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 Qacha's Nek?
Qacha's Nek has a subtropical highland, dry winter climate (Köppen Cwb). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 11.4 °C and it receives 913 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Qacha's Nek?
The hottest day measured in Qacha's Nek between 1940 and 2025 was 11 December 2015, reaching 34.3 °C.
What is the coldest day in Qacha's Nek?
The coldest day measured in Qacha's Nek between 1940 and 2025 was 26 June 1964, at -23.1 °C.
Does it snow in Qacha's Nek?
Yes. Qacha's Nek gets on average 21.5 cm of snow per year and has around 78 frost days.
Has the climate of Qacha's Nek warmed?
Yes: Qacha's Nek warmed by +1.9 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Qacha's Nek?
The wettest day measured in Qacha's Nek between 1940 and 2025 was 29 September 1987, with 99 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Qacha's Nek?
The windiest day measured in Qacha's Nek between 1940 and 2025 was 16 May 1984, with winds reaching 37.9 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Qacha's Nek?
The warmest month in Qacha's Nek is January (16.5 °C on average); the coldest is June (4.4 °C).
How much does it rain in Qacha's Nek?
Qacha's Nek receives on average 913 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 130 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Qacha's Nek?
Qacha's Nek gets on average 10.7 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,905 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Qacha's Nek?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Qacha's Nek between 1940 and 2025 was 28 September 1987, with 32.2 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Qacha's Nek?
Almost never: tropical nights (temperature staying above 20 °C) are virtually non-existent in Qacha's Nek.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Qacha's Nek?
In Qacha's Nek, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 33.5 °C on 6 January 2016, and the lowest was -28.7 °C on 26 June 1964.
Compare Qacha's Nek with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Qacha's Nek