Grahamstown weather in July

In July, Grahamstown sees average daytime highs of 21°C and overnight lows near 8°C, with 22 mm of rain across 3.6 wet days and about 10 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 21°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 62% of the time in July, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 h 48 min at the start of July to 10 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, July is Grahamstown's 1st-clearest and 6th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Grahamstown's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 21°; 11th warmest
Overnight low: 8°; 1st coldest
Rainfall: 22 mm; 3.6 wet days
Daylight: 10 hours; 7:20 AM – 5:19 PM
Cloud cover: 33%; 1st clearest
Wind: 13 km/h; 6th windiest
Solar energy: 3.02 kWh/m²
Travel score: 7.8; out of 10

Grahamstown is city in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Founded: 1820

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

← June Grahamstown year-round climate August →Best places to visit in July

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

Temperature in July

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 21°C through the month.

A typical July day in Grahamstown reaches about 21°C in the afternoon and slips back to 8°C overnight — a 13°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 14°C and 27°C. Set against its neighbours, July runs on par with June and on par with August.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21
Avg low (°C)	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	20	8
2	20	8
3	20	8
4	20	8
5	20	8
6	20	8
7	20	8
8	20	8
9	20	8
10	20	8
11	20	8
12	21	8
13	21	8
14	21	8
15	21	8
16	21	8
17	21	8
18	21	8
19	21	8
20	21	8
21	21	8
22	21	8
23	21	8
24	21	8
25	21	8
26	21	8
27	21	8
28	21	8
29	21	8
30	21	8
31	21	8

Grahamstown weather by month

How July compares with the rest of the year at a glance. July is the 11th-warmest and 11th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	27° / 16°	63	9.2	14	6.6
Feb	28° / 17°	64	9.9	13.2	6.4
Mar	27° / 15°	59	8.7	12.3	6.9
Apr	24° / 13°	49	8.1	11.2	7.3
May	23° / 11°	22	5	10.3	7.9
Jun	21° / 8°	22	4	9.8	7.7
Jul	21° / 8°	22	3.6	10	7.8
Aug	21° / 8°	35	5.9	10.8	7.5
Sep	22° / 10°	40	6.2	11.8	7.5
Oct	23° / 12°	56	9	12.8	7.1
Nov	24° / 13°	60	9.2	13.7	7.0
Dec	26° / 15°	62	9.8	14.2	6.7

Cloud cover in July

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 62% of the time in July, the clearest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 15% of July, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 23%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	79	79	79	79	80	80	80	79	79	79	79	78	77	77	77	77	77	76	76	76	76	75	75	75	75	76	76	76	75	75	75
Cloudier (%)	21	21	21	21	20	20	20	21	21	21	21	22	23	23	23	23	23	24	24	24	24	25	25	25	25	24	24	24	25	25	25

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	79	21
2	79	21
3	79	21
4	79	21
5	80	20
6	80	20
7	80	20
8	79	21
9	79	21
10	79	21
11	79	21
12	78	22
13	77	23
14	77	23
15	77	23
16	77	23
17	77	23
18	76	24
19	76	24
20	76	24
21	76	24
22	75	25
23	75	25
24	75	25
25	75	25
26	76	24
27	76	24
28	76	24
29	75	25
30	75	25
31	75	25

Chance of precipitation in July

Any precipitation

Grahamstown gets around 22 mm of rain over 3.6 wet days in July. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 13% and peaks near 17% on the wettest days. The odds climb toward the end of the month.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	11	11	12	12	13	13	14	14	14	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	16	16	16	17

	Rain chance (%)
1	9
2	9
3	9
4	9
5	9
6	9
7	9
8	9
9	10
10	10
11	11
12	11
13	12
14	12
15	13
16	13
17	14
18	14
19	14
20	15
21	15
22	15
23	15
24	15
25	15
26	15
27	15
28	16
29	16
30	16
31	17

Humidity in July

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, July lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

Wind in July

Winds average 13 km/h in July.

Across July, daily wind ranges from about 13 km/h on the calmest days to 13 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	13	light breeze
2	13	light breeze
3	13	light breeze
4	13	light breeze
5	13	light breeze
6	13	light breeze
7	13	light breeze
8	13	light breeze
9	13	light breeze
10	13	light breeze
11	13	light breeze
12	13	light breeze
13	13	light breeze
14	13	light breeze
15	13	light breeze
16	13	light breeze
17	13	light breeze
18	13	light breeze
19	13	light breeze
20	13	light breeze
21	13	light breeze
22	13	light breeze
23	13	light breeze
24	13	light breeze
25	13	light breeze
26	13	light breeze
27	13	light breeze
28	13	light breeze
29	13	light breeze
30	13	light breeze
31	13	light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in July

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 48 min at the start of July to 10 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 30 minutes over July. Sunrise moves from 7:23 AM to 7:11 AM, and sunset from 5:12 PM to 5:29 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.3	10.3	10.3
Sunrise (AM)	7:23	7:23	7:23	7:22	7:22	7:22	7:22	7:22	7:22	7:22	7:21	7:21	7:21	7:20	7:20	7:20	7:19	7:19	7:18	7:18	7:17	7:17	7:16	7:16	7:15	7:14	7:14	7:13	7:12	7:11	7:11
Sunset (PM)	5:12	5:12	5:13	5:13	5:13	5:14	5:14	5:15	5:15	5:16	5:16	5:17	5:18	5:18	5:19	5:19	5:20	5:21	5:21	5:22	5:22	5:23	5:24	5:24	5:25	5:26	5:26	5:27	5:28	5:29	5:29

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	9.8	7:23	5:12
2	9.8	7:23	5:12
3	9.8	7:23	5:13
4	9.8	7:22	5:13
5	9.9	7:22	5:13
6	9.9	7:22	5:14
7	9.9	7:22	5:14
8	9.9	7:22	5:15
9	9.9	7:22	5:15
10	9.9	7:22	5:16
11	9.9	7:21	5:16
12	9.9	7:21	5:17
13	9.9	7:21	5:18
14	10.0	7:20	5:18
15	10.0	7:20	5:19
16	10.0	7:20	5:19
17	10.0	7:19	5:20
18	10.0	7:19	5:21
19	10.0	7:18	5:21
20	10.1	7:18	5:22
21	10.1	7:17	5:22
22	10.1	7:17	5:23
23	10.1	7:16	5:24
24	10.1	7:16	5:24
25	10.2	7:15	5:25
26	10.2	7:14	5:26
27	10.2	7:14	5:26
28	10.2	7:13	5:27
29	10.3	7:12	5:28
30	10.3	7:11	5:29
31	10.3	7:11	5:29

Solar energy in July

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in July, about 3.02 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.81 kWh/m² to a high of 6.46 kWh/m² in December across the year — July's 3.02 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	2.8	2.8	2.9	2.9	2.9	2.9	2.9	2.9	2.9	2.9	2.9	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.3	3.3
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	2.8	Moderate
2	2.8	Moderate
3	2.9	Moderate
4	2.9	Moderate
5	2.9	Moderate
6	2.9	Moderate
7	2.9	Moderate
8	2.9	Moderate
9	2.9	Moderate
10	2.9	Moderate
11	2.9	Moderate
12	3.0	Moderate
13	3.0	Moderate
14	3.0	Moderate
15	3.0	Moderate
16	3.0	Moderate
17	3.0	Moderate
18	3.0	Moderate
19	3.0	Moderate
20	3.1	Moderate
21	3.1	Moderate
22	3.1	Moderate
23	3.1	Moderate
24	3.1	Moderate
25	3.2	Moderate
26	3.2	Moderate
27	3.2	Moderate
28	3.2	Moderate
29	3.2	Moderate
30	3.3	Moderate
31	3.3	Moderate

Planning a trip in July

Is July a good time to visit Grahamstown?

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

7.8

Sightseeing

2nd-best month of the year

4.4

Beach & pool

12th-best month of the year

July is one of the better times to visit Grahamstown for general sightseeing.

What to pack for Grahamstown in July

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

In July, Grahamstown sees daytime highs around 21°C and nights near 8°C. Worth packing: a warm layer. About 4 days see rain.

a warm layer

Sea temperature near Grahamstown in July

The nearest coast averages about 19°C in July — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 48 km away) is warmest in February at about 23°C and coldest in September near 19°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Nov 4 to Jun 16 — about 7.4 months when the water holds above 20°C.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sea temperature (°C)	22	23	22	22	21	20	19	19	19	19	21	21
Comfort	Refreshing	Refreshing	Refreshing	Refreshing	Refreshing	Refreshing	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Refreshing	Refreshing

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	22	Refreshing
Feb	23	Refreshing
Mar	22	Refreshing
Apr	22	Refreshing
May	21	Refreshing
Jun	20	Refreshing
Jul	19	Cool
Aug	19	Cool
Sep	19	Cool
Oct	19	Cool
Nov	21	Refreshing
Dec	21	Refreshing

UV index in Grahamstown in July

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in July peaks around 3 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Grahamstown peaks around January 14 at about 13 (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.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	13	11	10	6	4	3	3	5	7	10	11	12
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	High	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	13	Extreme
Feb	11	Extreme
Mar	10	Very high
Apr	6	High
May	4	Moderate
Jun	3	Moderate
Jul	3	Moderate
Aug	5	Moderate
Sep	7	High
Oct	10	Extreme
Nov	11	Extreme
Dec	12	Extreme

Air quality in Grahamstown in July

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Grahamstown is worst in August — around 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.8× the cleanest month (February, 6 µg/m³).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	6	6	7	10	14	15	14	17	14	11	7	6
Level	Good	Good	Good	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Good	Good

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	6	Good
Feb	6	Good
Mar	7	Good
Apr	10	Good
May	14	Moderate
Jun	15	Moderate
Jul	14	Moderate
Aug	17	Moderate
Sep	14	Moderate
Oct	11	Good
Nov	7	Good
Dec	6	Good

Location & terrain

Where is Grahamstown?

Grahamstown sits at 33.3°S, 26.5°E, 551 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Port Alfred, 45 km away.

Topography around Grahamstown

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Grahamstown has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 240 m around an average of 595 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 697 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,453 m.

The land around Grahamstown is covered by grassland (54%) and trees (21%) within 3 km, grassland (50%) and trees (34%) within 16 km, and grassland (44%), trees (21%) and water (21%) within 80 km.

3 km

240 m

grassland 54%

16 km

697 m

grassland 50%

80 km

1,453 m

grassland 44%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← June Grahamstown year-round climate August →Best places to visit in July

July weather nearby: Port Alfred 45 km · Fort Beaufort 60 km · Alice 64 km · Dimbaza 82 km · Qonce 93 km · Bhisho 99 km · Ndevana 101 km · Somerset East 109 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

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 Grahamstown (-33.3042°, 26.5328°, elevation 551 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. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	20	8
2	20	8
3	20	8
4	20	8
5	20	8
6	20	8
7	20	8
8	20	8
9	20	8
10	20	8
11	20	8
12	21	8
13	21	8
14	21	8
15	21	8
16	21	8
17	21	8
18	21	8
19	21	8
20	21	8
21	21	8
22	21	8
23	21	8
24	21	8
25	21	8
26	21	8
27	21	8
28	21	8
29	21	8
30	21	8
31	21	8

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	79	21
2	79	21
3	79	21
4	79	21
5	80	20
6	80	20
7	80	20
8	79	21
9	79	21
10	79	21
11	79	21
12	78	22
13	77	23
14	77	23
15	77	23
16	77	23
17	77	23
18	76	24
19	76	24
20	76	24
21	76	24
22	75	25
23	75	25
24	75	25
25	75	25
26	76	24
27	76	24
28	76	24
29	75	25
30	75	25
31	75	25

	Rain chance (%)
1	9
2	9
3	9
4	9
5	9
6	9
7	9
8	9
9	10
10	10
11	11
12	11
13	12
14	12
15	13
16	13
17	14
18	14
19	14
20	15
21	15
22	15
23	15
24	15
25	15
26	15
27	15
28	16
29	16
30	16
31	17

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	20	8
2	20	8
3	20	8
4	20	8
5	20	8
6	20	8
7	20	8
8	20	8
9	20	8
10	20	8
11	20	8
12	21	8
13	21	8
14	21	8
15	21	8
16	21	8
17	21	8
18	21	8
19	21	8
20	21	8
21	21	8
22	21	8
23	21	8
24	21	8
25	21	8
26	21	8
27	21	8
28	21	8
29	21	8
30	21	8
31	21	8

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	79	21
2	79	21
3	79	21
4	79	21
5	80	20
6	80	20
7	80	20
8	79	21
9	79	21
10	79	21
11	79	21
12	78	22
13	77	23
14	77	23
15	77	23
16	77	23
17	77	23
18	76	24
19	76	24
20	76	24
21	76	24
22	75	25
23	75	25
24	75	25
25	75	25
26	76	24
27	76	24
28	76	24
29	75	25
30	75	25
31	75	25

	Rain chance (%)
1	9
2	9
3	9
4	9
5	9
6	9
7	9
8	9
9	10
10	10
11	11
12	11
13	12
14	12
15	13
16	13
17	14
18	14
19	14
20	15
21	15
22	15
23	15
24	15
25	15
26	15
27	15
28	16
29	16
30	16
31	17

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	20	8
2	20	8
3	20	8
4	20	8
5	20	8
6	20	8
7	20	8
8	20	8
9	20	8
10	20	8
11	20	8
12	21	8
13	21	8
14	21	8
15	21	8
16	21	8
17	21	8
18	21	8
19	21	8
20	21	8
21	21	8
22	21	8
23	21	8
24	21	8
25	21	8
26	21	8
27	21	8
28	21	8
29	21	8
30	21	8
31	21	8

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	79	21
2	79	21
3	79	21
4	79	21
5	80	20
6	80	20
7	80	20
8	79	21
9	79	21
10	79	21
11	79	21
12	78	22
13	77	23
14	77	23
15	77	23
16	77	23
17	77	23
18	76	24
19	76	24
20	76	24
21	76	24
22	75	25
23	75	25
24	75	25
25	75	25
26	76	24
27	76	24
28	76	24
29	75	25
30	75	25
31	75	25

	Rain chance (%)
1	9
2	9
3	9
4	9
5	9
6	9
7	9
8	9
9	10
10	10
11	11
12	11
13	12
14	12
15	13
16	13
17	14
18	14
19	14
20	15
21	15
22	15
23	15
24	15
25	15
26	15
27	15
28	16
29	16
30	16
31	17

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100