Mafikeng weather in January

In January, Mafikeng sees average daytime highs of 29°C and overnight lows near 18°C, with 90 mm of rain across 14.6 wet days and about 13.4 hours of daylight. It is the 2nd-warmest and 2nd-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 40% of the time in January, and the air most often feels humid.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 36 min at the start of January to 13 h 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Mafikeng's 11th-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Mafikeng's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 29°; 2nd warmest
Overnight low: 18°; 12th coldest
Rainfall: 90 mm; 14.6 wet days
Daylight: 13 h 30 min; 5:43 AM – 7:10 PM
Cloud cover: 50%; 11th clearest
Wind: 11 km/h; 7th windiest
Solar energy: 6.89 kWh/m²
Travel score: 5.2; out of 10

Mafikeng is city in North West, South Africa.

Founded: 1852

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

← December Mafikeng year-round climate February →Best places to visit in January

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

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 Mafikeng reaches about 29°C in the afternoon and slips back to 18°C overnight — a 11°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 24°C and 33°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and on par with February.

	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)	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	29	29	29	29	29
Avg low (°C)	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18

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

Mafikeng weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 2nd-warmest and 2nd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	29° / 18°	90	14.6	13.4	5.2
Feb	28° / 18°	90	12.2	12.9	5.8
Mar	27° / 16°	71	10.7	12.2	6.7
Apr	24° / 12°	40	5.8	11.4	8.0
May	22° / 8°	18	2.4	10.8	8.7
Jun	20° / 5°	9	1.4	10.4	8.4
Jul	20° / 4°	2	0.5	10.5	8.5
Aug	23° / 7°	7	1.4	11.1	9.1
Sep	26° / 12°	13	1.8	11.8	8.6
Oct	28° / 15°	45	7.1	12.6	6.9
Nov	29° / 16°	69	11.4	13.3	5.7
Dec	29° / 17°	87	14.3	13.6	5.2

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 40% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 28% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 33%.

	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 (%)	67	67	67	67	67	67	67	67	67	67	67	67	67	67	67	67	66	66	66	67	67	67	67	67	67	68	69	69	69	70	70
Cloudier (%)	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	34	34	34	33	33	33	33	33	33	32	31	31	31	30	30

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	67	33
2	67	33
3	67	33
4	67	33
5	67	33
6	67	33
7	67	33
8	67	33
9	67	33
10	67	33
11	67	33
12	67	33
13	67	33
14	67	33
15	67	33
16	67	33
17	66	34
18	66	34
19	66	34
20	67	33
21	67	33
22	67	33
23	67	33
24	67	33
25	67	33
26	68	32
27	69	31
28	69	31
29	69	31
30	70	30
31	70	30

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Mafikeng gets around 90 mm of rain over 14.6 wet days in January. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 47% and peaks near 48% on the wettest days.

	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 (%)	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	48	48	48	48	48	48	48	48	48	48	48	48	48	48	48	48

	Rain chance (%)
1	46
2	46
3	46
4	46
5	46
6	46
7	46
8	46
9	47
10	47
11	47
12	47
13	47
14	47
15	47
16	48
17	48
18	48
19	48
20	48
21	48
22	48
23	48
24	48
25	48
26	48
27	48
28	48
29	48
30	48
31	48

Humidity in January

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, January lands in the humid band about 39% 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 (%)	28	28	28	27	27	27	27	27	26	26	25	24	24	23	22	21	20	19	19	18	17	17	17	17	17	17	18	18	18	18	19
Comfortable (%)	38	37	37	37	37	36	36	36	35	35	35	34	34	34	34	34	33	33	33	33	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	35
Humid (%)	31	32	32	32	32	32	33	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	44	45	45	45	44	44	44	43	43	43	42	42
Muggy (%)	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)	Muggy (%)
1	28	38	31	3
2	28	37	32	3
3	28	37	32	4
4	27	37	32	4
5	27	37	32	4
6	27	36	32	4
7	27	36	33	4
8	27	36	33	4
9	26	35	34	4
10	26	35	35	4
11	25	35	36	4
12	24	34	37	4
13	24	34	38	4
14	23	34	39	4
15	22	34	40	4
16	21	34	41	4
17	20	33	42	4
18	19	33	43	4
19	19	33	44	4
20	18	33	44	4
21	17	34	45	4
22	17	34	45	4
23	17	34	45	5
24	17	34	44	5
25	17	34	44	5
26	17	34	44	5
27	18	34	43	5
28	18	34	43	5
29	18	34	43	5
30	18	34	42	5
31	19	35	42	5

Wind in January

Winds average 11 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 11 km/h on the calmest days to 12 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)	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

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

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 36 min at the start of January to 13 h 12 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 24 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 5:33 AM to 5:54 AM, and sunset from 7:08 PM to 7:07 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)	13.6	13.6	13.6	13.6	13.6	13.6	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.3	13.3	13.3	13.3	13.3	13.3	13.2	13.2
Sunrise (AM)	5:33	5:33	5:34	5:35	5:35	5:36	5:37	5:37	5:38	5:39	5:40	5:40	5:41	5:42	5:42	5:43	5:44	5:45	5:45	5:46	5:47	5:48	5:48	5:49	5:50	5:51	5:51	5:52	5:53	5:54	5:54
Sunset (PM)	7:08	7:09	7:09	7:09	7:09	7:10	7:10	7:10	7:10	7:10	7:10	7:10	7:10	7:10	7:10	7:10	7:10	7:10	7:10	7:10	7:10	7:10	7:10	7:09	7:09	7:09	7:09	7:08	7:08	7:08	7:07

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	13.6	5:33	7:08
2	13.6	5:33	7:09
3	13.6	5:34	7:09
4	13.6	5:35	7:09
5	13.6	5:35	7:09
6	13.6	5:36	7:10
7	13.5	5:37	7:10
8	13.5	5:37	7:10
9	13.5	5:38	7:10
10	13.5	5:39	7:10
11	13.5	5:40	7:10
12	13.5	5:40	7:10
13	13.5	5:41	7:10
14	13.5	5:42	7:10
15	13.5	5:42	7:10
16	13.5	5:43	7:10
17	13.4	5:44	7:10
18	13.4	5:45	7:10
19	13.4	5:45	7:10
20	13.4	5:46	7:10
21	13.4	5:47	7:10
22	13.4	5:48	7:10
23	13.4	5:48	7:10
24	13.3	5:49	7:09
25	13.3	5:50	7:09
26	13.3	5:51	7:09
27	13.3	5:51	7:09
28	13.3	5:52	7:08
29	13.3	5:53	7:08
30	13.2	5:54	7:08
31	13.2	5:54	7:07

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 6.89 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.94 kWh/m² to a high of 7.1 kWh/m² in December across the year — January's 6.89 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	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)	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	6.9	6.9	6.9	6.9	6.8	6.8	6.8	6.8	6.8	6.8	6.8	6.7	6.7	6.7	6.7	6.7	6.7	6.7	6.7
Level	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	7.1	Intense
2	7.1	Intense
3	7.1	Intense
4	7.1	Intense
5	7.1	Intense
6	7.0	Intense
7	7.0	Intense
8	7.0	Intense
9	7.0	Intense
10	7.0	Intense
11	7.0	Intense
12	7.0	Intense
13	6.9	Intense
14	6.9	Intense
15	6.9	Intense
16	6.9	Intense
17	6.8	Intense
18	6.8	Intense
19	6.8	Intense
20	6.8	Intense
21	6.8	Intense
22	6.8	Intense
23	6.8	Intense
24	6.7	Intense
25	6.7	Intense
26	6.7	Intense
27	6.7	Intense
28	6.7	Intense
29	6.7	Intense
30	6.7	Intense
31	6.7	Intense

Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Mafikeng

In seasonPeak

In January, Mafikeng sits inside its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Mafikeng'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 January a good time to visit Mafikeng?

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

5.2

Sightseeing

11th-best month of the year

6.4

Beach & pool

9th-best month of the year

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

What to pack for Mafikeng in January

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

In January, Mafikeng sees daytime highs around 29°C and nights near 18°C. Pack light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 15 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

UV index in Mafikeng in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 15 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Mafikeng peaks around January 14 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 19 at about 5 (high).

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)	15	13	12	9	6	5	6	7	9	11	12	14
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High	High	High	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	15	Extreme
Feb	13	Extreme
Mar	12	Extreme
Apr	9	Very high
May	6	High
Jun	5	High
Jul	6	High
Aug	7	Very high
Sep	9	Very high
Oct	11	Extreme
Nov	12	Extreme
Dec	14	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Mafikeng?

Mafikeng sits at 25.9°S, 25.6°E, 1,284 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Mmabatho, 2.0 km away.

Topography around Mafikeng

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Mafikeng has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 57 m around an average of 1,279 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 197 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 578 m.

The land around Mafikeng is covered by artificial surfaces (50%) and shrubs (21%) within 3 km, grassland (63%) and shrubs (24%) within 16 km, and grassland (47%) and shrubs (30%) within 80 km.

3 km

57 m

artificial surfaces 50%

16 km

197 m

grassland 63%

80 km

578 m

grassland 47%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaces

← December Mafikeng year-round climate February →Best places to visit in January

January weather nearby: Mmabatho 2.0 km · Itsoseng 34 km · Janeng 51 km · Zeerust 57 km · Lichtenburg 61 km · Lobatse 71 km · Coligny 85 km · Kanye 105 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 Mafikeng (-25.8652°, 25.6442°, elevation 1,284 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).

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	67	33
2	67	33
3	67	33
4	67	33
5	67	33
6	67	33
7	67	33
8	67	33
9	67	33
10	67	33
11	67	33
12	67	33
13	67	33
14	67	33
15	67	33
16	67	33
17	66	34
18	66	34
19	66	34
20	67	33
21	67	33
22	67	33
23	67	33
24	67	33
25	67	33
26	68	32
27	69	31
28	69	31
29	69	31
30	70	30
31	70	30

	Rain chance (%)
1	46
2	46
3	46
4	46
5	46
6	46
7	46
8	46
9	47
10	47
11	47
12	47
13	47
14	47
15	47
16	48
17	48
18	48
19	48
20	48
21	48
22	48
23	48
24	48
25	48
26	48
27	48
28	48
29	48
30	48
31	48

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)	Muggy (%)
1	28	38	31	3
2	28	37	32	3
3	28	37	32	4
4	27	37	32	4
5	27	37	32	4
6	27	36	32	4
7	27	36	33	4
8	27	36	33	4
9	26	35	34	4
10	26	35	35	4
11	25	35	36	4
12	24	34	37	4
13	24	34	38	4
14	23	34	39	4
15	22	34	40	4
16	21	34	41	4
17	20	33	42	4
18	19	33	43	4
19	19	33	44	4
20	18	33	44	4
21	17	34	45	4
22	17	34	45	4
23	17	34	45	5
24	17	34	44	5
25	17	34	44	5
26	17	34	44	5
27	18	34	43	5
28	18	34	43	5
29	18	34	43	5
30	18	34	42	5
31	19	35	42	5

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	67	33
2	67	33
3	67	33
4	67	33
5	67	33
6	67	33
7	67	33
8	67	33
9	67	33
10	67	33
11	67	33
12	67	33
13	67	33
14	67	33
15	67	33
16	67	33
17	66	34
18	66	34
19	66	34
20	67	33
21	67	33
22	67	33
23	67	33
24	67	33
25	67	33
26	68	32
27	69	31
28	69	31
29	69	31
30	70	30
31	70	30

	Rain chance (%)
1	46
2	46
3	46
4	46
5	46
6	46
7	46
8	46
9	47
10	47
11	47
12	47
13	47
14	47
15	47
16	48
17	48
18	48
19	48
20	48
21	48
22	48
23	48
24	48
25	48
26	48
27	48
28	48
29	48
30	48
31	48

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)	Muggy (%)
1	28	38	31	3
2	28	37	32	3
3	28	37	32	4
4	27	37	32	4
5	27	37	32	4
6	27	36	32	4
7	27	36	33	4
8	27	36	33	4
9	26	35	34	4
10	26	35	35	4
11	25	35	36	4
12	24	34	37	4
13	24	34	38	4
14	23	34	39	4
15	22	34	40	4
16	21	34	41	4
17	20	33	42	4
18	19	33	43	4
19	19	33	44	4
20	18	33	44	4
21	17	34	45	4
22	17	34	45	4
23	17	34	45	5
24	17	34	44	5
25	17	34	44	5
26	17	34	44	5
27	18	34	43	5
28	18	34	43	5
29	18	34	43	5
30	18	34	42	5
31	19	35	42	5

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	67	33
2	67	33
3	67	33
4	67	33
5	67	33
6	67	33
7	67	33
8	67	33
9	67	33
10	67	33
11	67	33
12	67	33
13	67	33
14	67	33
15	67	33
16	67	33
17	66	34
18	66	34
19	66	34
20	67	33
21	67	33
22	67	33
23	67	33
24	67	33
25	67	33
26	68	32
27	69	31
28	69	31
29	69	31
30	70	30
31	70	30

	Rain chance (%)
1	46
2	46
3	46
4	46
5	46
6	46
7	46
8	46
9	47
10	47
11	47
12	47
13	47
14	47
15	47
16	48
17	48
18	48
19	48
20	48
21	48
22	48
23	48
24	48
25	48
26	48
27	48
28	48
29	48
30	48
31	48

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)	Muggy (%)
1	28	38	31	3
2	28	37	32	3
3	28	37	32	4
4	27	37	32	4
5	27	37	32	4
6	27	36	32	4
7	27	36	33	4
8	27	36	33	4
9	26	35	34	4
10	26	35	35	4
11	25	35	36	4
12	24	34	37	4
13	24	34	38	4
14	23	34	39	4
15	22	34	40	4
16	21	34	41	4
17	20	33	42	4
18	19	33	43	4
19	19	33	44	4
20	18	33	44	4
21	17	34	45	4
22	17	34	45	4
23	17	34	45	5
24	17	34	44	5
25	17	34	44	5
26	17	34	44	5
27	18	34	43	5
28	18	34	43	5
29	18	34	43	5
30	18	34	42	5
31	19	35	42	5