eSikhaleni in Winter

In winter (June, July and August), eSikhaleni sees average daytime highs around 23°C and overnight lows near 16°C, with 124 mm of rain over about 21 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 23°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 70% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels comfortable.

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

Avg daytime high
23°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
16°C
Rainfall
124 mm
21 wet days
Avg wind
16 km/h
Travel score
8.1
best season of the year
Months
Jun · Jul · Aug

Temperature in eSikhaleni in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 23°C.

A typical winter day in eSikhaleni reaches about 23°C and drops to 16°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is August, the coolest July.

10°15°20°25°30°JunJulAug

eSikhaleni 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
Jan29° / 23°10813.513.65.3
Feb29° / 23°9511.9135.3
Mar28° / 22°9712.312.25.9
Apr27° / 20°7910.411.36.8
May25° / 18°567.610.67.8
Jun24° / 16°396.610.28.2
Jul23° / 15°476.910.38.0
Aug24° / 16°397118.0
Sep25° / 18°548.211.87.4
Oct25° / 19°8012.212.76.5
Nov26° / 20°9313.213.46.0
Dec28° / 22°8611.713.85.9

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 70% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%JunJulAug

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

eSikhaleni gets around 124 mm of rain over 21 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%JunJulAug

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels comfortable — 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 16 km/h across winter.

0510152025JunJulAug

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 18 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 3.5 kWh/m².

012345JunJulAug
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for eSikhaleni

In seasonPeak

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

eSikhaleni sits in the South Indian Ocean cyclone belt; the season peaks January–March.

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

Is winter a good time to visit eSikhaleni?

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.

8.1
Sightseeing
1st-best month of the year
6.4
Beach & pool
3rd-best month of the year

winter is one of the better times to visit eSikhaleni for general sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for eSikhaleni in Winter

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

In winter, eSikhaleni sees daytime highs around 23°C and nights near 16°C. Worth packing: light clothes. About 21 days see rain.

light clothes

Sea temperature near eSikhaleni in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 22°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in February at about 26°C and coldest in August near 21°C.

The water stays above 20°C all year — warm enough for a swim any month.

20°22°24°26°28°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccoolrefreshingwarmcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan26Warm
Feb26Warm
Mar26Warm
Apr25Warm
May24Refreshing
Jun22Refreshing
Jul22Refreshing
Aug21Refreshing
Sep21Refreshing
Oct22Refreshing
Nov23Refreshing
Dec24Warm

UV index in eSikhaleni in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in eSikhaleni peaks around February 10 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 21 at about 4 (moderate).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeHighModerateHighVery highVery highExtremeFeb 10UV 12Jun 21UV 4
UV index (midday)Level
Jan12Extreme
Feb12Extreme
Mar11Extreme
Apr6High
May5Moderate
Jun4Moderate
Jul4Moderate
Aug6High
Sep6High
Oct10Extreme
Nov10Very high
Dec12Extreme

Air quality in eSikhaleni 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 eSikhaleni is worst in July — around 25 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.4× the cleanest month (January, 7 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1424 µg/m³Jan 187 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb8Good
Mar11Good
Apr18Moderate
May20Moderate
Jun23Moderate
Jul25Moderate
Aug22Moderate
Sep20Moderate
Oct14Moderate
Nov11Good
Dec9Good
Location & terrain

Where is eSikhaleni?

eSikhaleni sits at 28.9°S, 31.9°E, 15 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Empangeni, 12 km away.

Topography around eSikhaleni

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around eSikhaleni has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 124 m around an average of 36 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 388 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,322 m.

The land around eSikhaleni is covered by trees (60%) and artificial surfaces (22%) within 3 km, water (34%) and trees (32%) within 16 km, and water (32%), trees (30%) and grassland (25%) within 80 km.

3 km
124 m
16 km
388 m
80 km
1,322 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetlandmangroves
Winter weather nearby: Empangeni 12 km · Richards Bay 17 km · Eshowe 42 km · Mandeni 56 km · Mtubatuba 58 km · Ulundi 76 km · KwaDukuza 78 km · Shakaskraal 92 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 eSikhaleni (-28.871°, 31.8996°, elevation 15 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.