Mossel Bay in Winter

In winter (June, July and August), Mossel Bay sees average daytime highs around 17°C and overnight lows near 13°C, with 123 mm of rain over about 22 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 3rd-wettest season.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 17°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 55% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Mossel Bay's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. Mossel Bay has little temperature swing across the year, so its calendar seasons blur — the season framing matters less here than for a place with four distinct seasons. For the whole year in context, see Mossel Bay's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
17°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
13°C
Rainfall
123 mm
22 wet days
Avg wind
17 km/h
Travel score
6.1
weakest season of the year
Months
Jun · Jul · Aug

Temperature in Mossel Bay in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 17°C.

A typical winter day in Mossel Bay reaches about 17°C and drops to 13°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is June, the coolest July.

10°15°20°25°JunJulAug

Mossel Bay 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.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan22° / 19°377.5147.4
Feb22° / 20°306.713.37.4
Mar21° / 19°417.412.37.3
Apr20° / 17°436.711.26.9
May19° / 15°406.210.26.9
Jun17° / 14°376.99.86.4
Jul17° / 13°387.2106.1
Aug17° / 13°477.610.75.9
Sep17° / 14°336.511.86.1
Oct18° / 15°437.412.96.5
Nov19° / 17°527.713.86.7
Dec21° / 18°356.814.27.2

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 55% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%JunJulAug

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Mossel Bay gets around 123 mm of rain over 22 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%JunJulAug

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%JunJulAug

Wind in Winter

Winds average 17 km/h across winter.

05101520JunJulAug

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

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.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJunJulAug

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 3.0 kWh/m².

012345JunJulAug
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Mossel Bay?

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.

6.1
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
1.5
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a reasonable time to visit Mossel Bay for sightseeing.

What to pack for Mossel Bay in Winter

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

In winter, Mossel Bay sees daytime highs around 17°C and nights near 13°C. Worth packing: a warm layer. About 22 days see rain.

a warm layer

Sea temperature near Mossel Bay in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 16°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 21 km away) is warmest in January at about 21°C and coldest in August near 16°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Dec 15 to Mar 18 — about 3.1 months when the water holds above 20°C.

14°16°18°20°22°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan21Refreshing
Feb21Refreshing
Mar20Refreshing
Apr18Cool
May17Cool
Jun16Cool
Jul16Cool
Aug16Cool
Sep16Cool
Oct17Cool
Nov19Cool
Dec20Refreshing

UV index in Mossel Bay in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

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 Mossel Bay 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 — in 10 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highModerateExtremeJan 14UV 13Jun 22UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan13Extreme
Feb10Extreme
Mar10Very high
Apr6High
May4Moderate
Jun3Moderate
Jul3Moderate
Aug4Moderate
Sep6High
Oct10Extreme
Nov11Extreme
Dec12Extreme
Location & terrain

Where is Mossel Bay?

Mossel Bay sits at 34.2°S, 22.1°E, 43 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Groot-Brakrivier, 17 km away.

Swellendam

Topography around Mossel Bay

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Mossel Bay has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 175 m around an average of 28 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 336 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,504 m.

The land around Mossel Bay is covered by water (70%) within 3 km, water (69%) within 16 km, and water (35%), shrubs (27%) and grassland (22%) within 80 km.

3 km
175 m
16 km
336 m
80 km
1,504 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Groot-Brakrivier 17 km · George 38 km · Oudtshoorn 65 km · Dysselsdorp 73 km · Riversdale 82 km · Knysna 85 km · Plettenberg Bay 114 km · Swellendam 158 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 Mossel Bay (-34.1831°, 22.146°, elevation 43 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.