Graaff Reinet weather in January

In January, Graaff Reinet sees average daytime highs of 29°C and overnight lows near 16°C, with 71 mm of rain across 9.7 wet days and about 13.9 hours of daylight. It is the 1st-warmest and 1st-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 29°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 59% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 06 min at the start of January to 13 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Graaff Reinet's 5th-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Graaff Reinet's year-round climate.

Daytime high
29°
1st warmest
Overnight low
16°
11th coldest
Rainfall
71 mm
9.7 wet days
Daylight
13 h 54 min
5:34 AM – 7:28 PM
Cloud cover
37%
5th clearest
Wind
10 km/h
7th windiest
Solar energy
7.59 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.7
out of 10

Graaff Reinet is town in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Density
309/km²
people per km²
Founded
1786

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 29°C through the month.

A typical January day in Graaff Reinet reaches about 29°C in the afternoon and slips back to 16°C overnight — a 14°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 23°C and 35°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 1°C warmer than December and on par with February.

10°20°30°40°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
12915
22915
32915
42915
52915
62915
72915
82915
92916
102916
112916
122916
132916
142916
152916
162916
172916
182916
192916
202916
212916
222916
232916
242916
252916
262916
272916
282916
292916
302916
312916

Graaff Reinet weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 1st-warmest and 1st-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan29° / 16°719.713.95.7
Feb29° / 16°6310.113.25.6
Mar27° / 14°649.212.26.8
Apr24° / 11°356.711.27.7
May21° / 183.710.47.9
Jun18° / 163.39.97.5
Jul18° / 173.310.17.5
Aug20° / 224.310.87.6
Sep23° / 274.311.88.0
Oct25° / 10°417.212.87.7
Nov26° / 12°537.513.77.3
Dec29° / 14°578.214.16.4

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 59% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 17% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 24%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
17822
27822
37822
47822
57822
67822
77921
87822
97822
107822
117723
127723
137822
147822
157723
167723
177723
187624
197624
207525
217426
227426
237426
247426
257426
267327
277327
287426
297426
307426
317426

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Graaff Reinet gets around 71 mm of rain over 9.7 wet days in January, the wettest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 30% and peaks near 33% on the wettest days.

0%10%20%30%40%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
128
229
329
430
530
631
731
831
931
1031
1131
1231
1330
1430
1530
1629
1729
1829
1929
2029
2129
2230
2330
2431
2531
2631
2732
2832
2932
3032
3133

Humidity in January

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, January lands in the dry band about 58% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
165269
265269
364279
464279
563289
663289
762299
862299
961309
1061309
1161309
1260319
1360319
1460319
1559329
1659329
17583210
18583210
19563311
20563311
21553312
22553312
23553312
24553312
25543412
26543412
27543412
28543412
29543412
30543412
31533512

Wind in January

Winds average 10 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 9 km/h on the calmest days to 10 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
110calm
210calm
310calm
410calm
510calm
610calm
710calm
810calm
910calm
1010calm
1110calm
1210calm
1310calm
1410calm
1510calm
1610calm
1710calm
1810calm
1910calm
2010calm
2110calm
2210calm
239calm
249calm
259calm
269calm
279calm
289calm
299calm
309calm
319calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 06 min at the start of January to 13 h 36 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 30 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 5:23 AM to 5:48 AM, and sunset from 7:27 PM to 7:23 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
114.15:237:27
214.15:237:28
314.15:247:28
414.15:257:28
514.05:257:28
614.05:267:28
714.05:277:28
814.05:287:29
914.05:287:29
1014.05:297:29
1114.05:307:29
1214.05:317:29
1313.95:327:28
1413.95:327:28
1513.95:337:28
1613.95:347:28
1713.95:357:28
1813.95:367:28
1913.85:377:28
2013.85:387:27
2113.85:397:27
2213.85:397:27
2313.85:407:26
2413.75:417:26
2513.75:427:26
2613.75:437:25
2713.75:447:25
2813.75:457:24
2913.65:467:24
3013.65:477:23
3113.65:487:23

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 7.59 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.08 kWh/m² to a high of 7.97 kWh/m² in December across the year — January's 7.59 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

02468151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
17.9Intense
27.9Intense
37.8Intense
47.8Intense
57.8Intense
67.8Intense
77.8Intense
87.8Intense
97.7Intense
107.7Intense
117.7Intense
127.7Intense
137.7Intense
147.7Intense
157.7Intense
167.6Intense
177.6Intense
187.6Intense
197.6Intense
207.5Intense
217.5Intense
227.5Intense
237.5Intense
247.5Intense
257.4Intense
267.4Intense
277.4Intense
287.4Intense
297.3Intense
307.3Intense
317.3Intense
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Graaff Reinet?

Our two travel scores rate January for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

5.7
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
7.5
Beach & pool
2nd-best month of the year

January is a reasonable time to visit Graaff Reinet for sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Graaff Reinet in January

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

In January, Graaff Reinet sees daytime highs around 29°C and nights near 16°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

light clothessun protectionrain gear

UV index in Graaff Reinet in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks 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 Graaff Reinet peaks around January 14 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 22 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 14Jun 22UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan14Extreme
Feb12Extreme
Mar10Very high
Apr6High
May5Moderate
Jun3Moderate
Jul4Moderate
Aug5High
Sep7High
Oct11Extreme
Nov12Extreme
Dec13Extreme
Location & terrain

Where is Graaff Reinet?

Graaff Reinet sits at 32.3°S, 24.5°E, 756 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Middelburg, 96 km away.

Beaufort WestDe AarKariegaKruisfonteinHumansdorp

Topography around Graaff Reinet

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Graaff Reinet has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 631 m around an average of 857 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 969 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,048 m.

The land around Graaff Reinet is covered by shrubs (49%) within 3 km, grassland (56%) and shrubs (36%) within 16 km, and grassland (79%) within 80 km.

3 km
631 m
16 km
969 m
80 km
2,048 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Middelburg 96 km · Cradock 103 km · Somerset East 112 km · Beaufort West 183 km · De Aar 185 km · Kariega 186 km · Kruisfontein 196 km · Humansdorp 199 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 Graaff Reinet (-32.2522°, 24.5308°, elevation 756 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. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).