Swellendam climate — normals and trends

Q: What is the climate of Swellendam?

Swellendam has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 15.9 °C and it receives 375 mm of precipitation per year.

Q: What is the hottest day ever recorded in Swellendam?

The hottest day measured in Swellendam between 1940 and 2025 was 7 December 2002, reaching 42.0 °C.

Q: What is the coldest day in Swellendam?

The coldest day measured in Swellendam between 1940 and 2025 was 29 July 1946, at -3.6 °C.

Q: Does it snow in Swellendam?

Almost never: Swellendam sees virtually no snow, with about 2 frost days per year.

Q: Has the climate of Swellendam warmed?

Yes: Swellendam warmed by +2.1 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.

Q: What is the wettest day in Swellendam?

The wettest day measured in Swellendam between 1940 and 2025 was 24 March 2003, with 153 mm of rain in 24 hours.

Q: What was the windiest day in Swellendam?

The windiest day measured in Swellendam between 1940 and 2025 was 2 December 1943, with winds reaching 48.3 km/h.

Q: What is the warmest month in Swellendam?

The warmest month in Swellendam is January (20.8 °C on average); the coldest is July (10.5 °C).

Q: How much does it rain in Swellendam?

Swellendam receives on average 375 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 73 rainy days.

Q: Is it sunny in Swellendam?

Swellendam gets on average 10.4 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,796 hours per year over 1940-2025.

Swellendam (South Africa) has a cold semi-arid climate (BSk) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 15.9 °C and it receives 375 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 (20.8 °C on average) and the coldest is July (10.5 °C). Rainfall peaks in April.

Swellendam averages 2 frost days, 35 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 73 rainy days per year.

Swellendam has warmed by +2.1 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.25 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.

The number of frost days there went from about 3 to 1 per year over the period.

The hottest day of the period reached 42.0 °C (on 7 December 2002) and the coldest -3.6 °C (on 29 July 1946).

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

SwellendamWestern Cape

coords: -34.02°, 20.44°
period: 1940–2025 · 86 yrs

BSkCold semi-aridWarmest monthJanuaryColdest monthJulyWettest monthAprilDriest monthDecember

Mean daily temperature

15.9°C

Average daily high

22.6°C

Average daily low

10.8°C

Annual rainfall

375mm

Sunshine / day

10.4h

Mean relative humidity

69%

Average peak wind

16.5km/h

Seasonal range

10.3°C

Frost days (< 0 °C)

2 d/yr

Hot days (≥ 30 °C)

35 d/yr

Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)

73 d/yr

Annual snowfall

0.2 cm

Average feels-like high

21.6 °C

Average feels-like low

9.5 °C

Average peak gust

40.7 km/h

Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)

1 d/yr

Solar radiation

18.1 MJ/m²

Has the climate changed?

One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025

+2.1 °C

since 1940

+0.3 °C per decade · r² = 0.71 · p = < 0.001

19402025

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

42.0 °C

7 December 2002

Coldest day

-3.6 °C

29 July 1946

Wettest day

153 mm

24 March 2003

Windiest day

48.3 km/h

2 December 1943

Strongest gust

110.5 km/h

7 June 2017

Hottest feels-like

43.8 °C

23 January 2022

Coldest feels-like

-7.9 °C

29 July 1946

Snowiest day

2.7 cm

25 July 1952

Sunniest day

14.3 h

15 December 1941

Year	Hottest day	Coldest day	Annual mean	Rainfall	Hot days	Frost days
2025	38.7 °C12 February 2025	-0.2 °C12 July 2025	16.9 °C	248 mm	54	1
2024	38.1 °C12 February 2024	-0.5 °C3 August 2024	16.6 °C	441 mm	57	3
2023	38.4 °C15 November 2023	-0.7 °C25 July 2023	16.3 °C	565 mm	47	2
2022	41.0 °C23 January 2022	0.4 °C1 August 2022	17.2 °C	263 mm	61	0
2021	38.2 °C18 April 2021	0.2 °C6 July 2021	16.5 °C	419 mm	43	0
2020	38.2 °C16 February 2020	0.7 °C15 July 2020	16.9 °C	354 mm	52	0
2019	38.3 °C17 December 2019	0.8 °C14 June 2019	17.4 °C	260 mm	54	0
2018	41.3 °C11 January 2018	0.9 °C18 August 2018	17.2 °C	293 mm	59	0
2017	40.7 °C18 January 2017	0.0 °C10 July 2017	16.8 °C	297 mm	52	0
2016	40.7 °C1 February 2016	-1.5 °C3 July 2016	17.0 °C	333 mm	56	3
2015	39.3 °C30 December 2015	-1.1 °C15 July 2015	16.9 °C	419 mm	52	1
2014	37.2 °C6 October 2014	-0.7 °C7 July 2014	16.7 °C	408 mm	44	4
2013	37.5 °C25 February 2013	0.9 °C10 June 2013	16.3 °C	400 mm	51	0
2012	38.8 °C6 February 2012	0.1 °C5 July 2012	16.1 °C	500 mm	55	0
2011	36.8 °C9 October 2011	1.9 °C28 June 2011	16.2 °C	368 mm	44	0
2010	41.2 °C8 March 2010	-0.3 °C13 July 2010	16.4 °C	314 mm	40	1
2009	37.9 °C6 March 2009	1.1 °C25 July 2009	16.6 °C	319 mm	42	0
2008	39.7 °C6 March 2008	0.7 °C13 July 2008	16.2 °C	355 mm	38	0
2007	39.5 °C28 January 2007	-0.2 °C3 July 2007	16.4 °C	452 mm	50	1
2006	41.6 °C2 February 2006	1.1 °C8 July 2006	16.3 °C	474 mm	44	0
2005	38.8 °C2 February 2005	-0.4 °C29 June 2005	16.7 °C	365 mm	57	1
2004	37.8 °C15 March 2004	-0.9 °C28 June 2004	16.7 °C	414 mm	49	1
2003	40.3 °C1 January 2003	-0.9 °C3 July 2003	16.3 °C	500 mm	56	2
2002	42.0 °C7 December 2002	-0.7 °C3 June 2002	16.5 °C	354 mm	69	2
2001	37.1 °C14 March 2001	0.9 °C6 July 2001	16.7 °C	358 mm	44	0
2000	38.3 °C12 October 2000	0.6 °C16 July 2000	16.4 °C	345 mm	39	0
1999	38.9 °C11 November 1999	1.2 °C19 July 1999	17.2 °C	334 mm	69	0
1998	38.7 °C3 January 1998	-0.6 °C23 July 1998	16.1 °C	380 mm	41	1
1997	38.7 °C20 December 1997	-0.4 °C19 June 1997	16.0 °C	346 mm	42	1
1996	35.7 °C12 February 1996	-1.5 °C18 July 1996	15.3 °C	483 mm	26	4
1995	37.7 °C16 March 1995	-1.1 °C4 July 1995	15.6 °C	479 mm	31	4
1994	39.9 °C2 November 1994	-0.2 °C11 July 1994	16.2 °C	379 mm	43	1
1993	39.7 °C19 February 1993	0.2 °C19 July 1993	16.3 °C	456 mm	42	0
1992	39.7 °C4 January 1992	-0.1 °C27 June 1992	15.9 °C	412 mm	41	1
1991	36.9 °C15 January 1991	-1.1 °C28 July 1991	16.0 °C	298 mm	35	1
1990	38.4 °C7 February 1990	-0.8 °C23 June 1990	15.6 °C	384 mm	38	3
1989	40.0 °C17 December 1989	-0.6 °C29 July 1989	15.6 °C	401 mm	35	2
1988	37.0 °C13 November 1988	-1.9 °C17 June 1988	16.0 °C	342 mm	36	3
1987	36.5 °C8 February 1987	0.2 °C7 June 1987	16.1 °C	301 mm	29	0
1986	40.0 °C18 February 1986	-0.2 °C27 July 1986	16.2 °C	373 mm	29	1
1985	38.4 °C2 January 1985	0.1 °C28 July 1985	16.1 °C	549 mm	30	0
1984	37.9 °C7 November 1984	0.1 °C26 August 1984	16.1 °C	278 mm	43	0
1983	39.9 °C7 January 1983	-1.5 °C18 July 1983	15.8 °C	332 mm	33	1
1982	36.6 °C15 December 1982	-1.7 °C18 June 1982	15.4 °C	373 mm	26	9
1981	35.1 °C15 April 1981	-1.1 °C23 June 1981	15.3 °C	590 mm	20	5
1980	35.1 °C5 February 1980	0.9 °C5 July 1980	16.3 °C	302 mm	28	0
1979	37.3 °C24 January 1979	0.4 °C9 July 1979	15.6 °C	386 mm	30	0
1978	35.8 °C23 February 1978	0.7 °C6 August 1978	15.5 °C	391 mm	27	0
1977	37.8 °C10 February 1977	-0.3 °C30 July 1977	15.7 °C	543 mm	21	1
1976	37.1 °C16 January 1976	-1.0 °C16 July 1976	15.5 °C	505 mm	32	3
1975	36.7 °C18 February 1975	-0.8 °C2 August 1975	15.4 °C	396 mm	27	2
1974	39.0 °C11 February 1974	0.3 °C24 July 1974	15.7 °C	444 mm	39	0
1973	36.7 °C11 March 1973	-0.1 °C28 July 1973	15.8 °C	276 mm	39	1
1972	40.3 °C12 November 1972	-1.1 °C26 June 1972	16.1 °C	258 mm	54	3
1971	36.6 °C9 February 1971	-0.8 °C26 August 1971	15.0 °C	326 mm	26	2
1970	37.9 °C7 January 1970	-2.3 °C15 June 1970	15.1 °C	247 mm	34	6
1969	36.8 °C22 March 1969	-1.0 °C20 July 1969	15.3 °C	338 mm	32	3
1968	38.7 °C5 February 1968	-1.6 °C7 July 1968	15.2 °C	256 mm	30	5
1967	38.7 °C12 February 1967	-2.7 °C21 July 1967	15.0 °C	350 mm	28	7
1966	37.9 °C30 January 1966	0.5 °C14 June 1966	15.3 °C	268 mm	26	0
1965	38.4 °C28 January 1965	-2.8 °C4 June 1965	15.1 °C	304 mm	24	7
1964	38.4 °C10 March 1964	-1.4 °C26 June 1964	14.9 °C	292 mm	15	7
1963	38.1 °C2 January 1963	0.6 °C26 July 1963	15.4 °C	477 mm	23	0
1962	35.5 °C6 April 1962	-0.1 °C20 July 1962	14.9 °C	411 mm	14	1
1961	35.8 °C8 February 1961	-0.6 °C28 July 1961	14.8 °C	382 mm	17	1
1960	39.1 °C14 December 1960	0.7 °C16 August 1960	15.3 °C	291 mm	24	0
1959	36.7 °C15 March 1959	-0.4 °C25 June 1959	14.8 °C	373 mm	18	1
1958	37.3 °C7 October 1958	-0.4 °C9 June 1958	15.4 °C	181 mm	18	3
1957	35.7 °C15 November 1957	-1.9 °C3 August 1957	15.2 °C	308 mm	24	2
1956	35.0 °C15 January 1956	-0.4 °C11 June 1956	14.6 °C	306 mm	24	5
1955	35.9 °C17 January 1955	-1.4 °C7 August 1955	14.7 °C	336 mm	20	4
1954	35.6 °C3 April 1954	-2.0 °C30 June 1954	14.7 °C	347 mm	31	1
1953	37.3 °C7 March 1953	-0.1 °C15 August 1953	15.4 °C	383 mm	14	1
1952	36.1 °C26 February 1952	-0.1 °C28 July 1952	15.1 °C	507 mm	12	1
1951	40.6 °C31 January 1951	0.9 °C6 July 1951	15.5 °C	311 mm	22	0
1950	35.4 °C30 January 1950	0.9 °C28 July 1950	15.6 °C	383 mm	21	0
1949	36.1 °C2 January 1949	1.7 °C17 July 1949	15.8 °C	278 mm	30	0
1948	39.2 °C18 January 1948	-1.9 °C4 August 1948	14.8 °C	293 mm	29	5
1947	32.7 °C14 November 1947	-1.2 °C26 July 1947	14.0 °C	483 mm	7	2
1946	34.7 °C14 March 1946	-3.6 °C29 July 1946	15.2 °C	345 mm	13	2
1945	38.9 °C25 February 1945	0.2 °C11 July 1945	15.4 °C	394 mm	42	0
1944	32.4 °C5 January 1944	-1.4 °C14 June 1944	14.3 °C	801 mm	14	3
1943	37.1 °C16 February 1943	-1.9 °C21 July 1943	14.8 °C	351 mm	21	4
1942	36.6 °C24 November 1942	-2.0 °C5 August 1942	15.1 °C	351 mm	22	7
1941	41.0 °C17 January 1941	0.2 °C18 June 1941	15.9 °C	291 mm	42	0
1940	36.9 °C18 March 1940	-0.5 °C7 July 1940	15.4 °C	477 mm	29	1

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?

Year

Across the whole year

Average daily high

23.9 °C

+1.3 °C

Hot days (≥ 30 °C)

54 d/yr

+19

Frost days (< 0 °C)

1 d/yr

-1

Annual rainfall

248 mm

-127 mm

Month by month

	High	vs. normal	Precipitation	vs. normal
Jan	28.8 °C	+1.1 °C	16 mm	-10 mm
Feb	28.2 °C	+0.9 °C	8 mm	-22 mm
Mar	27.2 °C	+1.3 °C	39 mm	+6 mm
Apr	23.6 °C	+0.5 °C	53 mm	+15 mm
May	21.9 °C	+1.6 °C	20 mm	-13 mm
Jun	18.1 °C	+0.2 °C	33 mm	+3 mm
Jul	17.0 °C	-0.2 °C	26 mm	-5 mm
Aug	19.6 °C	+1.6 °C	7 mm	-28 mm
Sep	22.8 °C	+2.7 °C	10 mm	-16 mm
Oct	25.0 °C	+2.6 °C	12 mm	-26 mm
Nov	27.0 °C	+2.5 °C	13 mm	-19 mm
Dec	28.3 °C	+1.7 °C	12 mm	-12 mm

The year's extremes

Hottest day

38.7 °C

12 Feb 2025

Coldest day

-0.2 °C

12 Jul 2025

Wettest day

22.8 mm

8 Apr 2025

Windiest day

32.4 km/h

10 May 2025

Strongest gust

83.9 km/h

4 Jul 2025

Hottest feels-like

39.0 °C

7 Feb 2025

Coldest feels-like

-3.1 °C

12 Jul 2025

Sunniest day

14.3 h

15 Dec 2025

What was the weather like that day?

Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.

Date

Frequently asked questions

What is the climate of Swellendam?

Swellendam has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 15.9 °C and it receives 375 mm of precipitation per year.

What is the hottest day ever recorded in Swellendam?

The hottest day measured in Swellendam between 1940 and 2025 was 7 December 2002, reaching 42.0 °C.

What is the coldest day in Swellendam?

The coldest day measured in Swellendam between 1940 and 2025 was 29 July 1946, at -3.6 °C.

Does it snow in Swellendam?

Almost never: Swellendam sees virtually no snow, with about 2 frost days per year.

Has the climate of Swellendam warmed?

Yes: Swellendam warmed by +2.1 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.

What is the wettest day in Swellendam?

The wettest day measured in Swellendam between 1940 and 2025 was 24 March 2003, with 153 mm of rain in 24 hours.

What was the windiest day in Swellendam?

The windiest day measured in Swellendam between 1940 and 2025 was 2 December 1943, with winds reaching 48.3 km/h.

What is the warmest month in Swellendam?

The warmest month in Swellendam is January (20.8 °C on average); the coldest is July (10.5 °C).

How much does it rain in Swellendam?

Swellendam receives on average 375 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 73 rainy days.

Is it sunny in Swellendam?

Swellendam gets on average 10.4 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,796 hours per year over 1940-2025.

What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Swellendam?

The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Swellendam between 1940 and 2025 was 25 July 1952, with 2.7 cm.

Are there tropical nights in Swellendam?

Yes: Swellendam has on average 1 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.

What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Swellendam?

In Swellendam, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 43.8 °C on 23 January 2022, and the lowest was -7.9 °C on 29 July 1946.

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