Climate and average weather in Mtubatuba

In Mtubatuba, the weather is humid, hot, showery, and partly cloudy and remarkably steady, with daytime highs holding near hot levels all year. The wettest stretch peaks around January.

Best: mid April to mid October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Mtubatuba typically varies from 16°C to 29°C, and is rarely below 13°C or above 33°C. February is the hottest month of the year, while July is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Mtubatuba for warm-weather activities is from mid April to mid October.

Hottest
Feb
29°
Coldest
Jul
16°
Wettest
Jan
103 mm
Driest
Aug
34 mm
Rain / yr
828 mm
113 wet days
Daylight
10.2–13.8 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
66 m
28.4°S
Clearest
Jun
25% cloud

Mtubatuba is small town in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Founded
1903

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

Mtubatuba 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 mid April to mid October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

Temperatures in Mtubatuba stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is February, with an average high of 29°C and low of 23°C; the coolest is July, with an average low of 16°C and high of 23°C.

Days typically run about 7°C warmer than nights year-round.

10°15°20°25°30°35°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2923
Feb2923
Mar2922
Apr2720
May2518
Jun2416
Jul2316
Aug2417
Sep2518
Oct2519
Nov2620
Dec2822

Average hourly temperature in Mtubatuba

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 February afternoons, near 29°C, and coldest before dawn in July, near 16°C.

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

Mtubatuba 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° / 23°10312.913.65.2
Feb29° / 23°9811.5135.2
Mar29° / 22°10212.512.25.7
Apr27° / 20°7410.211.36.8
May25° / 18°506.810.67.8
Jun24° / 16°36610.28.3
Jul23° / 16°406.210.48.2
Aug24° / 17°345.9118.2
Sep25° / 18°487.711.87.5
Oct25° / 19°7110.712.76.7
Nov26° / 20°8711.713.46.1
Dec28° / 22°8511.213.85.8

Chance of rain

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

Mtubatuba gets about 828 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 6.8 months, from around Sep 30 to Apr 24, peaking in January at about 43% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Aug 25.

January is the wettest month by volume, with 103 mm over about 13 wet days; August is the driest, with 34 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJan 28 · 43%Aug 25 · 18%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan4113
Feb4212
Mar4013
Apr3310
May237
Jun206
Jul206
Aug196
Sep258
Oct3411
Nov3912
Dec3711

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Mtubatuba collects about 828 mm of rain across 113 wet days — roughly 69 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. January is the wettest month with 103 mm, while August is the driest at just 34 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 37% of the year’s total.

0255075100125JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec10398102745036403448718785
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan10313
Feb9812
Mar10213
Apr7410
May507
Jun366
Jul406
Aug346
Sep488
Oct7111
Nov8712
Dec8511

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Mtubatuba, 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 March 4 and lasts for 6.4 months, ending around September 15. The clearest month is June, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 87% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 16 and lasts for 5.6 months, ending around March 3. The cloudiest month is November, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 62% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJun 14 · 88%Nov 17 · 36%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan5050
Feb5842
Mar6535
Apr6832
May8119
Jun8713
Jul8416
Aug7723
Sep6337
Oct4555
Nov3862
Dec4357

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 48 min of light; the shortest, around June 9, only 10 h 12 min — a swing of roughly 3 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan13.65:126:49
Feb13.05:366:36
Mar12.25:556:07
Apr11.36:125:31
May10.66:305:05
Jun10.26:454:58
Jul10.46:465:08
Aug11.06:265:25
Sep11.85:515:41
Oct12.75:165:57
Nov13.44:536:20
Dec13.84:536:41

Sunny days

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

Mtubatuba averages about 14 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 6 and 23 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.3 months, from around Apr 7 to Sep 15. The sunniest month is June, with roughly 22 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is November, down near 7 sunny days — about 70% fewer than the June peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantJun 1523 daysNov 216 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan9Mixed
Feb11Mixed
Mar14Mixed
Apr15Bright
May21Bright
Jun22Bright
Jul22Bright
Aug20Bright
Sep14Mixed
Oct9Mixed
Nov7Gloomy
Dec8Gloomy

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 Mtubatuba, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 7.1 months, from around October 14 to May 18. The muggiest month is February, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 99% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around May 19 to October 13, and July is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 87% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJul 8 · 89%Feb 14 · 1%oppressivecomfortablehumidmuggydryhumidcomfortablehumid
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan021243431
Feb01941472
Mar031347361
Apr210325070
May1023481800
Jun394120000
Jul424413000
Aug304226100
Sep143246900
Oct624432610
Nov3113242110
Dec152147260

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 Mtubatuba is typically light breeze, near 17 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 5.7 months, from around Jul 26 to Jan 13. The windiest month is September, averaging about 18 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Jan 14 to Jul 25, with February the calmest month at about 15 km/h.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezySep 28 · 19 km/hFeb 24 · 15 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan16light breeze
Feb15light breeze
Mar15light breeze
Apr15light breeze
May15light breeze
Jun15light breeze
Jul16light breeze
Aug18light breeze
Sep18light breeze
Oct18light breeze
Nov18light breeze
Dec17light breeze

Hazard calendar for Mtubatuba

In seasonPeak

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

Mtubatuba sits in the South Indian Ocean cyclone belt; the season peaks January–March.

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

Best time to visit Mtubatuba

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around early October, Mtubatuba is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

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 Mtubatuba for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid April to mid October, with a peak score in the second week of June.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJun 14 · 8.4

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
Jan5.2fair
Feb5.2fair
Mar5.7good
Apr6.8good
May7.8ideal
Jun8.3ideal
Jul8.2ideal
Aug8.1ideal
Sep7.5good
Oct6.7good
Nov6.2good
Dec5.8good

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, Mtubatuba suits hot-weather activities for most of the year, with a peak score in the third week of May.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationMay 16 · 7.2

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 Mtubatuba, 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.

Mtubatuba packs about the same all year — highs hold near 29°C. Across the year the things worth having are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In February, Mtubatuba sees daytime highs around 29°C and nights near 23°C. Pack light clothes. Worth having: rain gear and sun protection. About 12 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Mtubatuba

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 30 km away) is warmest in February at about 27°C and coldest in August near 22°C.

The water stays above 20°C all year — warm enough for a swim any month.

20°22°24°26°28°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan27Warm
Feb27Warm
Mar27Warm
Apr26Warm
May25Warm
Jun24Refreshing
Jul23Refreshing
Aug22Refreshing
Sep22Refreshing
Oct23Refreshing
Nov24Warm
Dec25Warm

UV index (midday) in Mtubatuba 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 Mtubatuba peaks around February 10 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 22 at about 4 (moderate).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeHighModerateHighVery highExtremeFeb 10UV 12Jun 22UV 4
UV index (midday)Level
Jan12Extreme
Feb12Extreme
Mar11Extreme
Apr6High
May5High
Jun4Moderate
Jul4Moderate
Aug6High
Sep7High
Oct10Extreme
Nov10Very high
Dec12Extreme

Average hourly UV index in Mtubatuba

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 February the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6 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)
Jan96.5
Feb8.56
Mar7.55.5
Apr5.50.5
May4.50
Jun3.50
Jul40
Aug5.50
Sep6.52.5
Oct7.55.5
Nov85.5
Dec96.5

Air quality in Mtubatuba 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 Mtubatuba is worst in July — around 25 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.4× the cleanest month (January, 7 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1424 µg/m³Jan 187 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb8Good
Mar11Good
Apr18Moderate
May20Moderate
Jun23Moderate
Jul25Moderate
Aug22Moderate
Sep20Moderate
Oct14Moderate
Nov11Good
Dec9Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Mtubatuba 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. Mtubatuba banks about 4,654 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around February.

01,0002,0003,0004,0005,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan490
Feb448
Mar474
Apr405
May361
Jun296
Jul292
Aug319
Sep340
Oct372
Nov400
Dec458

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.

Mtubatuba receives about 4.7 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 3.1 and 6.2 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.1 months, from around Sep 23 to Mar 28. The brightest month is January, averaging about 6.1 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is June, down near 3.2 kWh/m² — roughly 47% less than the January peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbrighterdimmerbrighterdimmoderatebrightintenseJan 36.2 kWhJun 283.1 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan6.1Intense
Feb5.8Bright
Mar5.1Bright
Apr4.2Bright
May3.6Moderate
Jun3.2Moderate
Jul3.3Moderate
Aug4.0Moderate
Sep4.6Bright
Oct5.0Bright
Nov5.5Bright
Dec6.0Bright

Where is Mtubatuba?

Mtubatuba sits at 28.4°S, 32.2°E, 66 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Richards Bay, 43 km away.

Topography around Mtubatuba

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Mtubatuba has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 120 m around an average of 69 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 209 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,046 m.

The land around Mtubatuba is covered by trees (56%) and grassland (31%) within 3 km, trees (48%) and grassland (33%) within 16 km, and water (31%), trees (29%) and grassland (26%) within 80 km.

3 km
120 m
16 km
209 m
80 km
1,046 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
Nearby: Richards Bay 43 km · Empangeni 48 km · eSikhaleni 58 km · Ulundi 76 km · Eshowe 87 km · Mandeni 111 km · KwaDukuza 134 km · Ncotshane 134 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 Mtubatuba (-28.4179°, 32.1848°, elevation 66 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. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).