Bethal in Summer

In summer (December, January and February), Bethal sees average daytime highs around 25°C and overnight lows near 15°C, with 371 mm of rain over about 46 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 25°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 31% of the time across summer, and the air most often feels comfortable.

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

Avg daytime high
25°C
warmest season of the year
Avg overnight low
15°C
Rainfall
371 mm
46 wet days
Avg wind
11 km/h
Travel score
6.0
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Bethal in Summer

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 25°C.

A typical summer day in Bethal reaches about 25°C and drops to 15°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is January, the coolest December.

10°15°20°25°30°DecJanFeb

How summer really feels in Bethal

Once humidity and wind are folded in, summer brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

summer sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Bethal 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
Jan25° / 15°13216.213.56.0
Feb25° / 15°9412.412.96.4
Mar24° / 13°9010.812.27.1
Apr22° / 10°426.511.47.5
May20° / 152.710.78.1
Jun18° / 70.910.47.9
Jul18° / 60.810.57.9
Aug21° / 122.411.18.4
Sep24° / 10°233.811.88.5
Oct25° / 12°9112.212.66.9
Nov24° / 13°1121513.36.1
Dec25° / 14°14517.813.65.7

Cloud cover in Summer

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 31% of the time across summer.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Summer

Any precipitation

Bethal gets around 371 mm of rain over 46 wet days across summer. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%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 11 km/h across summer.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Summer

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 30 min in early December to 12 h 36 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 6.5 kWh/m².

0246DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in summer

Hazard calendar for Bethal

In seasonPeak

In summer, Bethal overlaps its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Bethal'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 summer a good time to visit Bethal?

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.

6.0
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
5.4
Beach & pool
2nd-best month of the year

summer is a reasonable time to visit Bethal for sightseeing.

What to pack for Bethal in Summer

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

In summer, Bethal sees daytime highs around 25°C and nights near 15°C. Pack rain gear and sun protection. Worth having: light clothes. About 46 days see rain.

rain gearsun protectionlight clothes

UV index in Bethal in Summer

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across summer averages around 14 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Bethal peaks around January 14 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 14UV 14Jun 20UV 5
UV index (midday)Level
Jan15Extreme
Feb13Extreme
Mar12Extreme
Apr8Very high
May6High
Jun5High
Jul6High
Aug7Very high
Sep9Very high
Oct11Extreme
Nov12Extreme
Dec14Extreme

Air quality in Bethal 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 Bethal is worst in July — around 87 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 3.6× the cleanest month (January, 24 µg/m³).

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

0306090JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModeratePoorUnhealthyPoorModerateJul 1286 µg/m³Jan 1024 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan24Moderate
Feb31Moderate
Mar39Poor
Apr56Unhealthy
May73Unhealthy
Jun83Unhealthy
Jul87Unhealthy
Aug72Unhealthy
Sep55Poor
Oct35Moderate
Nov26Moderate
Dec25Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Bethal?

Bethal sits at 26.5°S, 29.5°E, 1,661 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Trichardt, 24 km away.

Topography around Bethal

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Bethal has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 78 m around an average of 1,655 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 186 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 540 m.

The land around Bethal is covered by grassland (53%) and artificial surfaces (25%) within 3 km, grassland (52%) and cropland (45%) within 16 km, and grassland (58%) and cropland (38%) within 80 km.

3 km
78 m
16 km
186 m
80 km
540 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Summer weather nearby: Trichardt 24 km · Kriel 31 km · Secunda 31 km · Thubelihle 32 km · Kinross 38 km · eMbalenhle 41 km · Hendrina 42 km · Ermelo 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 Bethal (-26.4579°, 29.4655°, elevation 1,661 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.