Mooi River in Summer

In summer (December, January and February), Mooi River sees average daytime highs around 25°C and overnight lows near 15°C, with 378 mm of rain over about 53 wet days across the season. It is the warmest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.

Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 25°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 20% of the time across summer, and the air most often feels comfortable.

Summer is Mooi River's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Mooi River's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
25°C
warmest season of the year
Avg overnight low
15°C
Rainfall
378 mm
53 wet days
Avg wind
8 km/h
Travel score
5.5
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Mooi River in Summer

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 25°C.

A typical summer day in Mooi River reaches about 25°C and drops to 15°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is January, the coolest December.

10°20°30°DecJanFeb

Mooi River weather by month

How the three summer months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan26° / 15°13718.213.75.4
Feb26° / 15°11715.2135.7
Mar25° / 14°941412.26.4
Apr22° / 11°528.311.37.1
May20° / 203.710.67.8
Jun18° / 152.510.27.6
Jul18° / 182.510.37.6
Aug20° / 244.4117.7
Sep23° / 336.811.87.5
Oct23° / 11°7713.812.76.3
Nov24° / 13°1081713.55.7
Dec25° / 14°12419.913.85.3

Cloud cover in Summer

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 20% of the time across summer.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Summer

Any precipitation

Mooi River gets around 378 mm of rain over 53 wet days across summer. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%80%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Summer

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Summer

Winds average 8 km/h across summer.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Summer

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 42 min in early December to 12 h 42 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Summer

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across summer, about 5.9 kWh/m².

0246DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in summer

Hazard calendar for Mooi River

In seasonPeak

In summer, Mooi River overlaps its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Mooi River'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 summer a good time to visit Mooi River?

Our two travel scores rate summer for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

5.5
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
5.1
Beach & pool
1st-best month of the year

summer is a reasonable time to visit Mooi River for sightseeing.

What to pack for Mooi River in Summer

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

In summer, Mooi River sees daytime highs around 25°C and nights near 15°C. Pack rain gear and sun protection. Worth having: light clothes. About 53 days see rain.

rain gearsun protectionlight clothes

UV index in Mooi River in Summer

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across summer averages 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 Mooi River peaks around January 15 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 23 at about 4 (moderate).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highHighModerateHighVery highExtremeJan 15UV 14Jun 23UV 4
UV index (midday)Level
Jan14Extreme
Feb13Extreme
Mar11Extreme
Apr7Very high
May6High
Jun4Moderate
Jul4Moderate
Aug6High
Sep8Very high
Oct11Extreme
Nov11Extreme
Dec13Extreme

Air quality in Mooi River in Summer

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Mooi River is worst in July — around 71 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 4.3× the cleanest month (December, 17 µg/m³).

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

020406080JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModeratePoorUnhealthyPoorModerateJul 1769 µg/m³Dec 2317 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan17Moderate
Feb21Moderate
Mar27Moderate
Apr37Poor
May51Poor
Jun57Unhealthy
Jul71Unhealthy
Aug58Unhealthy
Sep49Poor
Oct28Moderate
Nov25Moderate
Dec17Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Mooi River?

Mooi River sits at 29.2°S, 30.0°E, 1,403 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Estcourt, 25 km away.

Topography around Mooi River

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Mooi River has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 140 m around an average of 1,420 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 499 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,183 m.

The land around Mooi River is covered by grassland (62%) and cropland (21%) within 3 km, grassland (67%) and cropland (21%) within 16 km, and grassland (56%) and trees (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
140 m
16 km
499 m
80 km
3,183 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Summer weather nearby: Estcourt 25 km · Wembesi 27 km · Howick 38 km · Mpophomeni 44 km · Pietermaritzburg 60 km · Greytown 60 km · Ladysmith 75 km · Richmond 79 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 Mooi River (-29.2082°, 29.9946°, elevation 1,403 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.