Belfast climate — normals and trends
Belfast (South Africa) has a subtropical highland, dry winter climate (Cwb) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 14.1 °C and it receives 848 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 (17.8 °C on average) and the coldest is June (8.1 °C). Rainfall peaks in December.
Belfast averages 11 frost days, 1 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 113 rainy days per year.
Belfast has warmed by +1.4 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.16 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 14 to 8 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 32.7 °C (on 7 January 2016) and the coldest -5.4 °C (on 23 July 2021).
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
BelfastMpumalanga
- coords
- -25.69°, 30.04°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
14.1°C
Average daily high
20.8°C
Average daily low
8.9°C
Annual rainfall
848mm
Sunshine / day
10.0h
Mean relative humidity
70%
Average peak wind
15.9km/h
Seasonal range
9.7°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
11 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
1 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
113 d/yr
Annual snowfall
1.0 cm
Average feels-like high
19.9 °C
Average feels-like low
6.9 °C
Average peak gust
35.3 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
0 d/yr
Solar radiation
19.5 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+1.4 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.44 · 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
32.7 °C
7 January 2016
Coldest day
-5.4 °C
23 July 2021
Wettest day
66 mm
30 January 1973
Windiest day
44.2 km/h
23 September 1941
Strongest gust
88.6 km/h
30 August 2008
Hottest feels-like
33.9 °C
7 January 2016
Coldest feels-like
-9.6 °C
29 June 1994
Snowiest day
11.0 cm
10 September 1981
Sunniest day
13.6 h
21 December 2023
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 | 24.6 °C | +1.2 °C | 181 mm | +37 mm |
| Feb | 23.3 °C | +0.1 °C | 188 mm | +76 mm |
| Mar | 22.8 °C | +0.5 °C | 129 mm | +34 mm |
| Apr | 19.6 °C | -0.8 °C | 74 mm | +21 mm |
| May | 18.9 °C | +0.6 °C | 6 mm | -11 mm |
| Jun | 16.8 °C | +0.9 °C | 1 mm | -7 mm |
| Jul | 16.8 °C | +0.7 °C | 3 mm | -2 mm |
| Aug | 21.3 °C | +2.4 °C | 6 mm | -5 mm |
| Sep | 23.5 °C | +1.3 °C | 44 mm | +16 mm |
| Oct | 22.7 °C | -0.3 °C | 94 mm | +13 mm |
| Nov | 20.5 °C | -2.2 °C | 213 mm | +78 mm |
| Dec | 22.6 °C | -0.6 °C | 119 mm | -40 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 Belfast?
Belfast has a subtropical highland, dry winter climate (Köppen Cwb). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 14.1 °C and it receives 848 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Belfast?
The hottest day measured in Belfast between 1940 and 2025 was 7 January 2016, reaching 32.7 °C.
What is the coldest day in Belfast?
The coldest day measured in Belfast between 1940 and 2025 was 23 July 2021, at -5.4 °C.
Does it snow in Belfast?
Almost never: Belfast sees virtually no snow, with about 11 frost days per year.
Has the climate of Belfast warmed?
Yes: Belfast warmed by +1.4 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Belfast?
The wettest day measured in Belfast between 1940 and 2025 was 30 January 1973, with 66 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Belfast?
The windiest day measured in Belfast between 1940 and 2025 was 23 September 1941, with winds reaching 44.2 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Belfast?
The warmest month in Belfast is January (17.8 °C on average); the coldest is June (8.1 °C).
How much does it rain in Belfast?
Belfast receives on average 848 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 113 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Belfast?
Belfast gets on average 10.0 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,650 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Belfast?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Belfast between 1940 and 2025 was 10 September 1981, with 11.0 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Belfast?
Almost never: tropical nights (temperature staying above 20 °C) are virtually non-existent in Belfast.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Belfast?
In Belfast, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 33.9 °C on 7 January 2016, and the lowest was -9.6 °C on 29 June 1994.
Compare Belfast with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Belfast