Phola weather in January

In January, Phola sees average daytime highs of 26°C and overnight lows near 16°C, with 116 mm of rain across 15.1 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 26°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time in January, and the air most often feels comfortable.

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 Phola's 10th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Phola's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 26°; 2nd warmest
Overnight low: 16°; 12th coldest
Rainfall: 116 mm; 15.1 wet days
Daylight: 13 h 30 min; 5:29 AM – 6:57 PM
Cloud cover: 54%; 10th clearest
Wind: 10 km/h; 8th windiest
Solar energy: 6.58 kWh/m²
Travel score: 6.0; out of 10

← December Phola 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 26°C through the month.

A typical January day in Phola reaches about 26°C in the afternoon and slips back to 16°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 22°C and 30°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)	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	27	27
Avg low (°C)	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16

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

Phola 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	26° / 16°	116	15.1	13.4	6.0
Feb	26° / 16°	93	12	12.9	6.3
Mar	25° / 15°	91	11.3	12.2	6.9
Apr	23° / 11°	40	6.2	11.4	7.8
May	21° / 8°	15	2.4	10.7	8.4
Jun	19° / 4°	6	0.9	10.4	8.3
Jul	19° / 4°	5	0.8	10.5	8.3
Aug	22° / 7°	9	1.6	11.1	8.8
Sep	25° / 11°	19	3	11.8	8.5
Oct	26° / 13°	73	10	12.6	7.0
Nov	26° / 14°	97	13.8	13.3	6.2
Dec	26° / 16°	125	16.3	13.6	5.8

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 24% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 42%.

	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 (%)	58	58	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	58	58	57	57	56	55	55	56	56	56	57	57	57	57	58	58	59	60	61	61	62	63
Cloudier (%)	42	42	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	42	42	43	43	44	45	45	44	44	44	43	43	43	43	42	42	41	40	39	39	38	37

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	58	42
2	58	42
3	59	41
4	59	41
5	59	41
6	59	41
7	59	41
8	59	41
9	59	41
10	58	42
11	58	42
12	57	43
13	57	43
14	56	44
15	55	45
16	55	45
17	56	44
18	56	44
19	56	44
20	57	43
21	57	43
22	57	43
23	57	43
24	58	42
25	58	42
26	59	41
27	60	40
28	61	39
29	61	39
30	62	38
31	63	37

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Phola gets around 116 mm of rain over 15.1 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 48% and peaks near 51% 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 (%)	51	50	50	49	49	48	48	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	48	48	48	49	49	49	50	50	50	49	49	49	48	48

	Rain chance (%)
1	51
2	50
3	50
4	49
5	49
6	48
7	48
8	47
9	47
10	47
11	47
12	47
13	47
14	47
15	47
16	47
17	47
18	48
19	48
20	48
21	49
22	49
23	49
24	50
25	50
26	50
27	49
28	49
29	49
30	48
31	48

Humidity in January

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, January lands in the comfortable band about 47% 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 (%)	19	20	20	21	21	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	21	21	20	20	19	18	18	17	17	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16
Comfortable (%)	48	47	47	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	47	47	47	48	48	48	48	48	48	49	49	50	51
Humid (%)	33	33	33	33	33	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	33	33	34	34	35	35	35	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	35	35	34	33

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	19	48	33
2	20	47	33
3	20	47	33
4	21	46	33
5	21	46	33
6	22	46	32
7	22	46	32
8	22	46	32
9	22	46	32
10	22	46	32
11	22	46	32
12	22	46	32
13	22	46	32
14	21	46	33
15	21	46	33
16	20	46	34
17	20	46	34
18	19	46	35
19	18	47	35
20	18	47	35
21	17	47	36
22	17	48	36
23	16	48	36
24	16	48	36
25	16	48	36
26	16	48	36
27	16	48	36
28	16	49	35
29	16	49	35
30	16	50	34
31	16	51	33

Wind in January

Winds average 10 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 10 km/h on the calmest days to 10 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)	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10
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	10	calm
2	10	calm
3	10	calm
4	10	calm
5	10	calm
6	10	calm
7	10	calm
8	10	calm
9	10	calm
10	10	calm
11	10	calm
12	10	calm
13	10	calm
14	10	calm
15	10	calm
16	10	calm
17	10	calm
18	10	calm
19	10	calm
20	10	calm
21	10	calm
22	10	calm
23	10	calm
24	10	calm
25	10	calm
26	10	calm
27	10	calm
28	10	calm
29	10	calm
30	10	calm
31	10	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 5:19 AM to 5:41 AM, and sunset from 6:55 PM to 6:54 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	13.6	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)	5:19	5:20	5:20	5:21	5:22	5:22	5:23	5:24	5:24	5:25	5:26	5:26	5:27	5:28	5:29	5:29	5:30	5:31	5:32	5:32	5:33	5:34	5:35	5:35	5:36	5:37	5:38	5:38	5:39	5:40	5:41
Sunset (PM)	6:55	6:55	6:56	6:56	6:56	6:56	6:56	6:57	6:57	6:57	6:57	6:57	6:57	6:57	6:57	6:57	6:57	6:57	6:57	6:57	6:57	6:56	6:56	6:56	6:56	6:56	6:55	6:55	6:55	6:54	6:54

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	13.6	5:19	6:55
2	13.6	5:20	6:55
3	13.6	5:20	6:56
4	13.6	5:21	6:56
5	13.6	5:22	6:56
6	13.6	5:22	6:56
7	13.6	5:23	6:56
8	13.5	5:24	6:57
9	13.5	5:24	6:57
10	13.5	5:25	6:57
11	13.5	5:26	6:57
12	13.5	5:26	6:57
13	13.5	5:27	6:57
14	13.5	5:28	6:57
15	13.5	5:29	6:57
16	13.5	5:29	6:57
17	13.4	5:30	6:57
18	13.4	5:31	6:57
19	13.4	5:32	6:57
20	13.4	5:32	6:57
21	13.4	5:33	6:57
22	13.4	5:34	6:56
23	13.4	5:35	6:56
24	13.3	5:35	6:56
25	13.3	5:36	6:56
26	13.3	5:37	6:56
27	13.3	5:38	6:55
28	13.3	5:38	6:55
29	13.3	5:39	6:55
30	13.2	5:40	6:54
31	13.2	5:41	6:54

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 6.58 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.93 kWh/m² to a high of 6.67 kWh/m² in December across the year — January's 6.58 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

	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)	6.8	6.8	6.8	6.8	6.7	6.7	6.7	6.7	6.7	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5
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	6.8	Intense
2	6.8	Intense
3	6.8	Intense
4	6.8	Intense
5	6.7	Intense
6	6.7	Intense
7	6.7	Intense
8	6.7	Intense
9	6.7	Intense
10	6.6	Intense
11	6.6	Intense
12	6.6	Intense
13	6.6	Intense
14	6.6	Intense
15	6.5	Intense
16	6.5	Intense
17	6.5	Intense
18	6.5	Intense
19	6.5	Intense
20	6.5	Intense
21	6.5	Intense
22	6.5	Intense
23	6.5	Intense
24	6.5	Intense
25	6.5	Intense
26	6.5	Intense
27	6.5	Intense
28	6.5	Intense
29	6.5	Intense
30	6.5	Intense
31	6.5	Intense

Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Phola

In seasonPeak

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

Phola'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 Phola?

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

6.0

Sightseeing

11th-best month of the year

5.8

Beach & pool

7th-best month of the year

January is a reasonable time to visit Phola for sightseeing.

What to pack for Phola in January

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

In January, Phola sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 16°C. Pack rain gear and sun protection. Worth having: light clothes. About 15 days see rain.

rain gearsun protectionlight clothes

UV index in Phola in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks 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 Phola 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)	14	13	12	8	6	5	6	7	9	10	11	14
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High	High	High	Very high	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	14	Extreme
Feb	13	Extreme
Mar	12	Extreme
Apr	8	Very high
May	6	High
Jun	5	High
Jul	6	High
Aug	7	Very high
Sep	9	Very high
Oct	10	Very high
Nov	11	Extreme
Dec	14	Extreme

Air quality in Phola in January

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Phola is worst in July — around 87 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 3.6× the cleanest month (January, 24 µg/m³).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	24	31	39	56	73	83	87	72	55	35	26	25
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Poor	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Poor	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	24	Moderate
Feb	31	Moderate
Mar	39	Poor
Apr	56	Unhealthy
May	73	Unhealthy
Jun	83	Unhealthy
Jul	87	Unhealthy
Aug	72	Unhealthy
Sep	55	Poor
Oct	35	Moderate
Nov	26	Moderate
Dec	25	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Phola?

Phola sits at 26.0°S, 29.0°E, 1,503 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Emalahleni, 25 km away.

Topography around Phola

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Phola has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 98 m around an average of 1,528 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 223 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 907 m.

The land around Phola is covered by grassland (48%) and cropland (20%) within 3 km, grassland (49%) and cropland (36%) within 16 km, and grassland (58%) and cropland (30%) within 80 km.

3 km

98 m

grassland 48%

16 km

223 m

grassland 49%

80 km

907 m

grassland 58%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

January weather nearby: Emalahleni 25 km · Thubelihle 35 km · Kriel 36 km · Bronkhorstspruit 36 km · Delmas 39 km · Leslie 42 km · Lebohang 43 km · Kinross 46 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 Phola (-26.002°, 29.034°, elevation 1,503 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).

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	58	42
2	58	42
3	59	41
4	59	41
5	59	41
6	59	41
7	59	41
8	59	41
9	59	41
10	58	42
11	58	42
12	57	43
13	57	43
14	56	44
15	55	45
16	55	45
17	56	44
18	56	44
19	56	44
20	57	43
21	57	43
22	57	43
23	57	43
24	58	42
25	58	42
26	59	41
27	60	40
28	61	39
29	61	39
30	62	38
31	63	37

	Rain chance (%)
1	51
2	50
3	50
4	49
5	49
6	48
7	48
8	47
9	47
10	47
11	47
12	47
13	47
14	47
15	47
16	47
17	47
18	48
19	48
20	48
21	49
22	49
23	49
24	50
25	50
26	50
27	49
28	49
29	49
30	48
31	48

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	19	48	33
2	20	47	33
3	20	47	33
4	21	46	33
5	21	46	33
6	22	46	32
7	22	46	32
8	22	46	32
9	22	46	32
10	22	46	32
11	22	46	32
12	22	46	32
13	22	46	32
14	21	46	33
15	21	46	33
16	20	46	34
17	20	46	34
18	19	46	35
19	18	47	35
20	18	47	35
21	17	47	36
22	17	48	36
23	16	48	36
24	16	48	36
25	16	48	36
26	16	48	36
27	16	48	36
28	16	49	35
29	16	49	35
30	16	50	34
31	16	51	33

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	58	42
2	58	42
3	59	41
4	59	41
5	59	41
6	59	41
7	59	41
8	59	41
9	59	41
10	58	42
11	58	42
12	57	43
13	57	43
14	56	44
15	55	45
16	55	45
17	56	44
18	56	44
19	56	44
20	57	43
21	57	43
22	57	43
23	57	43
24	58	42
25	58	42
26	59	41
27	60	40
28	61	39
29	61	39
30	62	38
31	63	37

	Rain chance (%)
1	51
2	50
3	50
4	49
5	49
6	48
7	48
8	47
9	47
10	47
11	47
12	47
13	47
14	47
15	47
16	47
17	47
18	48
19	48
20	48
21	49
22	49
23	49
24	50
25	50
26	50
27	49
28	49
29	49
30	48
31	48

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	19	48	33
2	20	47	33
3	20	47	33
4	21	46	33
5	21	46	33
6	22	46	32
7	22	46	32
8	22	46	32
9	22	46	32
10	22	46	32
11	22	46	32
12	22	46	32
13	22	46	32
14	21	46	33
15	21	46	33
16	20	46	34
17	20	46	34
18	19	46	35
19	18	47	35
20	18	47	35
21	17	47	36
22	17	48	36
23	16	48	36
24	16	48	36
25	16	48	36
26	16	48	36
27	16	48	36
28	16	49	35
29	16	49	35
30	16	50	34
31	16	51	33

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	58	42
2	58	42
3	59	41
4	59	41
5	59	41
6	59	41
7	59	41
8	59	41
9	59	41
10	58	42
11	58	42
12	57	43
13	57	43
14	56	44
15	55	45
16	55	45
17	56	44
18	56	44
19	56	44
20	57	43
21	57	43
22	57	43
23	57	43
24	58	42
25	58	42
26	59	41
27	60	40
28	61	39
29	61	39
30	62	38
31	63	37

	Rain chance (%)
1	51
2	50
3	50
4	49
5	49
6	48
7	48
8	47
9	47
10	47
11	47
12	47
13	47
14	47
15	47
16	47
17	47
18	48
19	48
20	48
21	49
22	49
23	49
24	50
25	50
26	50
27	49
28	49
29	49
30	48
31	48

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	19	48	33
2	20	47	33
3	20	47	33
4	21	46	33
5	21	46	33
6	22	46	32
7	22	46	32
8	22	46	32
9	22	46	32
10	22	46	32
11	22	46	32
12	22	46	32
13	22	46	32
14	21	46	33
15	21	46	33
16	20	46	34
17	20	46	34
18	19	46	35
19	18	47	35
20	18	47	35
21	17	47	36
22	17	48	36
23	16	48	36
24	16	48	36
25	16	48	36
26	16	48	36
27	16	48	36
28	16	49	35
29	16	49	35
30	16	50	34
31	16	51	33