Alice in Summer

In summer (December, January and February), Alice sees average daytime highs around 27°C and overnight lows near 16°C, with 285 mm of rain over about 35 wet days across the season. It is the warmest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.

Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 27°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 38% of the time across summer, and the air most often feels comfortable.

Summer is Alice's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Alice's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
27°C
warmest season of the year
Avg overnight low
16°C
Rainfall
285 mm
35 wet days
Avg wind
9 km/h
Travel score
6.3
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Alice in Summer

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 27°C.

A typical summer day in Alice reaches about 27°C and drops to 16°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is January, the coolest December.

10°20°30°DecJanFeb

Alice weather by month

How the three summer months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan27° / 16°9911.913.96.3
Feb27° / 16°9311.413.26.2
Mar26° / 15°8411.312.26.7
Apr24° / 12°628.211.27.4
May22° / 10°244.710.37.9
Jun20° / 264.29.97.7
Jul20° / 284.410.17.7
Aug21° / 416.410.87.4
Sep23° / 487.511.87.3
Oct23° / 11°7110.512.87.0
Nov25° / 13°8411.313.76.7
Dec26° / 15°9311.914.16.4

Cloud cover in Summer

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 38% of the time across summer.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Summer

Any precipitation

Alice gets around 285 mm of rain over 35 wet days across summer. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%50%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Summer

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of summer feels comfortable — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Summer

Winds average 9 km/h across summer.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Summer

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 hours in early December to 12 h 48 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Summer

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across summer, about 6.2 kWh/m².

0246DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in summer

Is summer a good time to visit Alice?

Our two travel scores rate summer for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

6.3
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
6.4
Beach & pool
1st-best month of the year

summer is a reasonable time to visit Alice for sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Alice in Summer

From summer's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In summer, Alice sees daytime highs around 27°C and nights near 16°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 35 days see rain.

light clothessun protectionrain gear

UV index in Alice in Summer

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across summer averages around 13 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Alice peaks around January 14 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 23 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highHighModerateHighExtremeJan 14UV 13Jun 23UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan14Extreme
Feb12Extreme
Mar10Very high
Apr6High
May5Moderate
Jun3Moderate
Jul3Moderate
Aug5Moderate
Sep6High
Oct11Extreme
Nov11Extreme
Dec12Extreme

Air quality in Alice in Summer

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where summer falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Alice is worst in August — around 18 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.7× the cleanest month (December, 7 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodAug 1618 µg/m³Dec 227 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb7Good
Mar8Good
Apr10Good
May13Moderate
Jun14Moderate
Jul15Moderate
Aug18Moderate
Sep14Moderate
Oct11Good
Nov8Good
Dec7Good
Location & terrain

Where is Alice?

Alice sits at 32.8°S, 26.8°E, 522 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Fort Beaufort, 19 km away.

Topography around Alice

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Alice.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Alice has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 223 m around an average of 567 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,165 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,356 m.

The land around Alice is covered by grassland (45%) and shrubs (26%) within 3 km, grassland (49%), shrubs (30%) and trees (20%) within 16 km, and grassland (60%) and trees (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
223 m
16 km
1,165 m
80 km
2,356 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaces
Summer weather nearby: Fort Beaufort 19 km · Dimbaza 36 km · Qonce 53 km · Bhisho 57 km · Stutterheim 60 km · Grahamstown 64 km · Ndevana 64 km · Whittlesea 68 km

South Africa travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / M / N
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 41% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$6,598
2025
Happiness
5.0 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
68%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
43.7
per 100k, 2022
Road deaths
22.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
Very high
EF EPI 602
Religion
Christian 86%or other traditional African religions 5%nothing in particular 5%Muslim 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Alice (-32.7875°, 26.8344°, elevation 522 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google.