Climate and average weather in Modimolle

In Modimolle, the summers are hot, showery, and mostly clear and the winters are mild and clear.

Best: early April to late September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Modimolle typically varies from 7°C to 29°C, and is rarely below 3°C or above 34°C. October is the hottest month of the year, while July is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Modimolle for warm-weather activities is from early April to late September.

Hottest
Oct
29°
Coldest
Jul
Wettest
Dec
135 mm
Driest
Jul
3 mm
Rain / yr
670 mm
85 wet days
Daylight
10.5–13.5 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
1,177 m
24.7°S
Clearest
Jul
13% cloud

Modimolle is town.

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

Modimolle weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early April to late September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Modimolle, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 6.7 months, from September 5 to March 26, with daily high temperatures above 27°C. The hottest month of the year in Modimolle is October, with an average high of 29°C and low of 16°C.

The cool season lasts 2.0 months, from May 31 to July 30, with daily high temperatures below 22°C. The coldest month of the year in Modimolle is July, with an average low of 7°C and high of 21°C.

Days typically run about 12°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 15°C) in August.

10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2919
Feb2919
Mar2717
Apr2514
May2310
Jun217
Jul217
Aug2410
Sep2814
Oct2916
Nov2817
Dec2818

Average hourly temperature in Modimolle

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on October afternoons, near 29°C, and coldest before dawn in July, near C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Modimolle weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan29° / 19°11713.513.45.4
Feb29° / 19°879.712.95.8
Mar27° / 17°869.812.26.7
Apr25° / 14°435.911.47.8
May23° / 10°142.610.88.9
Jun21° / 50.910.58.8
Jul21° / 30.610.68.8
Aug24° / 10°41.311.19.2
Sep28° / 14°142.711.87.9
Oct29° / 16°57912.66.1
Nov28° / 17°10513.313.25.5
Dec28° / 18°13515.713.55.3

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Modimolle gets about 670 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is some rain, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 6.0 months, from around Oct 8 to Apr 8, peaking in December at about 51% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jun 29.

December is the wettest month by volume, with 135 mm over about 16 wet days; July is the driest, with 3 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetDec 9 · 51%Jun 29 · 2%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan4314
Feb3510
Mar3210
Apr206
May83
Jun31
Jul21
Aug41
Sep103
Oct289
Nov4513
Dec4916

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Modimolle collects about 670 mm of rain across 85 wet days — roughly 56 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. December is the wettest month with 135 mm, while July is the driest at just 3 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 53% of the year’s total.

0255075100125150175JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec117878643145341457105135
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan11714
Feb8710
Mar8610
Apr436
May143
Jun51
Jul31
Aug41
Sep143
Oct579
Nov10513
Dec13516

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Modimolle, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around April 10 and lasts for 6.0 months, ending around October 9. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 93% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 10 and lasts for 6.0 months, ending around April 9. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 45% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJul 26 · 95%Dec 2 · 53%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan6139
Feb6535
Mar7129
Apr7921
May9010
Jun937
Jul937
Aug937
Sep8713
Oct7327
Nov5842
Dec5545

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around January 1, brings about 13 h 30 min of light; the shortest, around June 5, only 10 h 30 min — a swing of roughly 3 hours.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan13.45:346:57
Feb12.95:556:47
Mar12.26:116:21
Apr11.46:245:49
May10.86:395:27
Jun10.56:525:21
Jul10.66:545:30
Aug11.16:375:44
Sep11.86:055:56
Oct12.65:346:09
Nov13.25:156:28
Dec13.55:176:48

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Modimolle averages about 19 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 9 and 27 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.7 months, from around Apr 16 to Oct 6. The sunniest month is July, with roughly 26 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is December, down near 10 sunny days — about 63% fewer than the July peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantJul 2327 daysDec 79 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan12Mixed
Feb12Mixed
Mar16Bright
Apr19Bright
May25Brilliant
Jun26Brilliant
Jul27Brilliant
Aug26Brilliant
Sep22Bright
Oct17Bright
Nov11Mixed
Dec10Mixed

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Modimolle, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.6 months, from around November 14 to April 1. The muggiest month is January, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 59% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around April 2 to November 13, and May is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 10 · 100%Jan 22 · 39%muggyhumiddrycomfortablehumidcomfortablehumid
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan9324712
Feb1336429
Mar2742284
Apr672850
May97300
Jun100000
Jul100000
Aug100000
Sep98200
Oct752230
Nov4138200
Dec1438444

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Modimolle is typically calm, near 8 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 4.5 months, from around Aug 2 to Dec 15. The windiest month is October, averaging about 10 km/h (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Dec 16 to Aug 1, with April the calmest month at about 7 km/h.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmlight breezeOct 4 · 10 km/hApr 17 · 7 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan8calm
Feb8calm
Mar8calm
Apr7calm
May7calm
Jun8calm
Jul8calm
Aug9calm
Sep10calm
Oct10calm
Nov9calm
Dec8calm

Hazard calendar for Modimolle

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Modimolle's rainy season runs November–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Best time to visit Modimolle

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Modimolle throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around mid April, Modimolle is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Modimolle for general outdoor tourist activities is from early April to late September, with a peak score in the second week of August.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 14 · 9.3

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan5.4fair
Feb5.8good
Mar6.7good
Apr7.8ideal
May8.9ideal
Jun8.8ideal
Jul8.8ideal
Aug9.2ideal
Sep7.8ideal
Oct6.1good
Nov5.5fair
Dec5.3fair

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Modimolle for hot-weather activities run from early February to late May and again from early August to early November, with a peak score in the second week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 14 · 8.6

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Modimolle, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around October (highs near 29°C), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around July (highs near 21°C), pack a warm layer.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In October, Modimolle sees daytime highs around 29°C and nights near 16°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Modimolle by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Modimolle peaks around January 13 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 16 at about 5 (high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highHighVery highExtremeJan 13UV 14Jun 16UV 5
UV index (midday)Level
Jan14Extreme
Feb13Extreme
Mar12Extreme
Apr9Very high
May6High
Jun5High
Jul6High
Aug8Very high
Sep9Very high
Oct10Extreme
Nov12Extreme
Dec14Extreme

Average hourly UV index in Modimolle

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in January the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 9 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 7 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan97
Feb8.56.5
Mar86
Apr6.54
May5.51
Jun4.50
Jul5.51
Aug63.5
Sep75
Oct7.55.5
Nov8.56.5
Dec97

Air quality in Modimolle by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Modimolle is worst in July — around 79 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 5.7× the cleanest month (January, 14 µg/m³).

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

0306090JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModeratePoorUnhealthyPoorModerateJul 1179 µg/m³Jan 1114 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan14Moderate
Feb20Moderate
Mar29Moderate
Apr47Poor
May71Unhealthy
Jun77Unhealthy
Jul79Unhealthy
Aug69Unhealthy
Sep57Unhealthy
Oct31Moderate
Nov20Moderate
Dec15Moderate
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Modimolle is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecfrost-free year round
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Modimolle banks about 3,605 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around January.

01,0002,0003,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan421
Feb379
Mar378
Apr287
May206
Jun120
Jul116
Aug211
Sep318
Oct379
Nov380
Dec408

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Modimolle receives about 5.6 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.0 and 6.8 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.5 months, from around Aug 31 to Mar 17. The brightest month is December, averaging about 6.7 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is June, down near 4.0 kWh/m² — roughly 39% less than the December peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbrighterdimmerbrighterdimmoderatebrightintenseDec 276.8 kWhJun 214.0 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan6.6Intense
Feb6.3Intense
Mar5.7Bright
Apr4.9Bright
May4.5Bright
Jun4.0Bright
Jul4.3Bright
Aug5.1Bright
Sep6.1Intense
Oct6.6Intense
Nov6.5Intense
Dec6.6Intense

Where is Modimolle?

Modimolle sits at 24.7°S, 28.4°E, 1,177 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Bela Bela, 24 km away.

Topography around Modimolle

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Modimolle has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 92 m around an average of 1,182 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 514 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,099 m.

The land around Modimolle is covered by shrubs (32%), grassland (29%) and artificial surfaces (21%) within 3 km, shrubs (52%) and grassland (29%) within 16 km, and shrubs (53%) and grassland (27%) within 80 km.

3 km
92 m
16 km
514 m
80 km
1,099 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
Nearby: Bela Bela 24 km · Mookgophong 38 km · Vaalwater 53 km · Vaalbank 68 km · Siyabuswa 80 km · Hammanskraal 80 km · Mokopane 83 km · Somaroboro 84 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 Modimolle (-24.7°, 28.4°, elevation 1,177 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. 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).