Balfour in Winter

In winter (June, July and August), Balfour sees average daytime highs around 19°C and overnight lows near 4°C, with 25 mm of rain over about 5 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.

Over the season highs climb from about 19°C in early June to 23°C by late August. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 83% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Balfour's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Balfour's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
19°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
4°C
Rainfall
25 mm
5 wet days
Avg wind
11 km/h
Travel score
8.2
best season of the year
Months
Jun · Jul · Aug

Temperature in Balfour in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Over the season highs climb from about 19°C in early June to 23°C by late August.

A typical winter day in Balfour reaches about 19°C and drops to 4°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is August, the coolest July.

10°20°30°JunJulAug

Balfour weather by month

How the three winter months (June, July and August) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan26° / 16°13315.513.56.0
Feb26° / 16°9812.312.96.3
Mar25° / 14°8711.112.27.0
Apr23° / 11°406.911.47.6
May21° / 162.810.78.2
Jun18° / 81.610.48.0
Jul18° / 4110.58.0
Aug21° / 132.511.18.5
Sep25° / 10°23411.88.4
Oct26° / 13°8310.412.67.0
Nov26° / 14°1081313.36.3
Dec26° / 15°14817.213.65.7

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 83% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%JunJulAug

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Balfour gets around 25 mm of rain over 5 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%JunJulAug

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%JunJulAug

Wind in Winter

Winds average 11 km/h across winter.

051015JunJulAug

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 30 min in early June to 11 h 24 min by late August. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJunJulAug

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 4.3 kWh/m².

0246JunJulAug
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Balfour

In seasonPeak

None of Balfour's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.

Balfour's rainy season runs October–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is winter a good time to visit Balfour?

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

8.2
Sightseeing
1st-best month of the year
3.6
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is one of the better times to visit Balfour for general sightseeing.

What to pack for Balfour in Winter

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

In winter, Balfour sees daytime highs around 19°C and nights near 4°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and sun protection. About 5 days see rain.

a warm layersun protection

UV index in Balfour in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 6 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Balfour peaks around January 13 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 20 at about 5 (high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highHighVery highExtremeJan 13UV 14Jun 20UV 5
UV index (midday)Level
Jan15Extreme
Feb13Extreme
Mar12Extreme
Apr8Very high
May6High
Jun5High
Jul5High
Aug7Very high
Sep9Very high
Oct10Extreme
Nov12Extreme
Dec14Extreme

Air quality in Balfour in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Balfour is worst in July — around 69 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 3.9× the cleanest month (January, 18 µg/m³).

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

020406080JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModeratePoorUnhealthyPoorModerateJul 1468 µg/m³Jan 1418 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan18Moderate
Feb23Moderate
Mar33Moderate
Apr44Poor
May56Unhealthy
Jun65Unhealthy
Jul69Unhealthy
Aug59Unhealthy
Sep50Poor
Oct33Moderate
Nov25Moderate
Dec21Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Balfour?

Balfour sits at 26.7°S, 28.6°E, 1,622 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Nigel, 28 km away.

Topography around Balfour

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Balfour has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 136 m around an average of 1,631 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 326 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 511 m.

The land around Balfour is covered by grassland (45%) and cropland (41%) within 3 km, grassland (55%) and cropland (42%) within 16 km, and grassland (51%) and cropland (39%) within 80 km.

3 km
136 m
16 km
326 m
80 km
511 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Nigel 28 km · Heidelberg 29 km · Villiers 41 km · Lebohang 46 km · Leslie 46 km · eMbalenhle 50 km · Springs 50 km · Brakpan 52 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 Balfour (-26.6633°, 28.5902°, elevation 1,622 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.