Knysna in Winter
In winter (June, July and August), Knysna sees average daytime highs around 17°C and overnight lows near 10°C, with 151 mm of rain over about 24 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 2nd-wettest season.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 17°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 53% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Knysna's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Knysna's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 17°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 10°C
- Rainfall
- 151 mm
- 24 wet days
- Avg wind
- 13 km/h
- Travel score
- 6.2
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Jun · Jul · Aug
Temperature in Knysna in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 17°C.
A typical winter day in Knysna reaches about 17°C and drops to 10°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is June, the coolest July.
Knysna 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.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23° / 17° | 49 | 9.2 | 14 | 7.3 |
| Feb | 23° / 18° | 42 | 7.9 | 13.3 | 7.4 |
| Mar | 22° / 17° | 52 | 8.5 | 12.3 | 7.3 |
| Apr | 21° / 14° | 52 | 7.8 | 11.2 | 7.0 |
| May | 19° / 12° | 47 | 6.7 | 10.3 | 6.9 |
| Jun | 18° / 11° | 43 | 7.2 | 9.8 | 6.5 |
| Jul | 17° / 10° | 46 | 7.6 | 10 | 6.2 |
| Aug | 17° / 10° | 62 | 8.8 | 10.7 | 6.0 |
| Sep | 18° / 11° | 49 | 8.5 | 11.8 | 6.2 |
| Oct | 19° / 13° | 62 | 8.9 | 12.9 | 6.4 |
| Nov | 20° / 14° | 70 | 9.3 | 13.8 | 6.6 |
| Dec | 22° / 16° | 47 | 9.3 | 14.2 | 7.0 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 53% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Knysna gets around 151 mm of rain over 24 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 13 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 9 h 54 min in early June to 11 h 12 min by late August. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 3.1 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Knysna?
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.
winter is a reasonable time to visit Knysna for sightseeing.
What to pack for Knysna in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Knysna sees daytime highs around 17°C and nights near 10°C. Worth packing: rain gear. About 24 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Knysna in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 17°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 January at about 21°C and coldest in August near 17°C.
It's comfortable for a long swim from Dec 20 to Mar 14 — about 2.8 months when the water holds above 20°C.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 21 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 20 |
| Comfort | Refreshing | Refreshing | Refreshing | Cool | Cool | Cool | Cool | Cool | Cool | Cool | Cool | Cool |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21 | Refreshing |
| Feb | 21 | Refreshing |
| Mar | 20 | Refreshing |
| Apr | 18 | Cool |
| May | 18 | Cool |
| Jun | 17 | Cool |
| Jul | 17 | Cool |
| Aug | 17 | Cool |
| Sep | 17 | Cool |
| Oct | 17 | Cool |
| Nov | 18 | Cool |
| Dec | 20 | Cool |
UV index in Knysna in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages 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 Knysna peaks around January 15 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 23 at about 3 (moderate).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 13 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 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 | 9 | Very high |
| Apr | 6 | High |
| May | 4 | Moderate |
| Jun | 3 | Moderate |
| Jul | 3 | Moderate |
| Aug | 4 | Moderate |
| Sep | 6 | High |
| Oct | 10 | Extreme |
| Nov | 11 | Extreme |
| Dec | 12 | Extreme |
Where is Knysna?
Knysna sits at 34.0°S, 23.0°E, 9 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Plettenberg Bay, 30 km away.
Topography around Knysna
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Knysna.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Knysna has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 288 m around an average of 64 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 929 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,052 m.
The land around Knysna is covered by trees (41%) and water (20%) within 3 km, trees (45%) and water (34%) within 16 km, and water (36%) and grassland (31%) within 80 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 Knysna (-34.0363°, 23.0471°, elevation 9 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.