Piet Retief weather in May

In May, Piet Retief sees average daytime highs of 21°C and overnight lows near 8°C, with 18 mm of rain across 3.3 wet days and about 10.7 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 22°C in the first days to 20°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 74% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 11 hours at the start of May to 10 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Piet Retief's 3rd-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Piet Retief's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 21°; 10th warmest
Overnight low: 8°; 4th coldest
Rainfall: 18 mm; 3.3 wet days
Daylight: 10 h 42 min; 6:33 AM – 5:13 PM
Cloud cover: 25%; 3rd clearest
Wind: 8 km/h; 7th windiest
Solar energy: 4.09 kWh/m²
Travel score: 8.2; out of 10

Piet Retief is town.

Founded: 1882

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

← April Piet Retief year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

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

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 22°C in the first days to 20°C by the end.

A typical May day in Piet Retief reaches about 21°C in the afternoon and slips back to 8°C overnight — a 13°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 17°C and 25°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 2°C cooler than April and about 2°C warmer than June.

	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)	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	20	20
Avg low (°C)	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7

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

Piet Retief weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 10th-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	26° / 16°	144	18.2	13.5	5.5
Feb	26° / 16°	116	13.9	13	5.9
Mar	25° / 14°	104	13.5	12.2	6.6
Apr	23° / 12°	48	7.7	11.4	7.5
May	21° / 8°	18	3.3	10.7	8.2
Jun	20° / 6°	11	2.2	10.3	8.1
Jul	20° / 5°	12	2	10.5	8.1
Aug	22° / 8°	21	3.6	11	8.3
Sep	24° / 10°	38	7	11.8	7.8
Oct	24° / 12°	96	13.4	12.6	6.5
Nov	25° / 14°	131	16.9	13.3	5.6
Dec	26° / 15°	155	19.4	13.7	5.3

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 74% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 10% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 17%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

	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 (%)	79	79	81	81	82	83	83	82	83	83	83	83	83	83	83	83	83	83	83	83	83	84	84	84	85	85	85	85	86	86	86
Cloudier (%)	21	21	19	19	18	17	17	18	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	16	16	16	15	15	15	15	14	14	14

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	79	21
2	79	21
3	81	19
4	81	19
5	82	18
6	83	17
7	83	17
8	82	18
9	83	17
10	83	17
11	83	17
12	83	17
13	83	17
14	83	17
15	83	17
16	83	17
17	83	17
18	83	17
19	83	17
20	83	17
21	83	17
22	84	16
23	84	16
24	84	16
25	85	15
26	85	15
27	85	15
28	85	15
29	86	14
30	86	14
31	86	14

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Piet Retief gets around 18 mm of rain over 3.3 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 11% and peaks near 16% on the wettest days. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

	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 (%)	16	16	15	15	14	14	14	13	13	13	12	12	12	11	11	11	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	7	7	7	7

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

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, May lands in the dry band about 98% 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 (%)	90	92	93	94	95	96	96	97	97	98	98	98	98	98	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Comfortable (%)	10	8	7	6	5	4	4	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	90	10
2	92	8
3	93	7
4	94	6
5	95	5
6	96	4
7	96	4
8	97	3
9	97	3
10	98	2
11	98	2
12	98	2
13	98	2
14	98	2
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	99	1
22	99	1
23	99	1
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0

Wind in May

Winds average 8 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 8 km/h on the calmest days to 9 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)	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9
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	8	calm
2	8	calm
3	8	calm
4	8	calm
5	8	calm
6	8	calm
7	8	calm
8	8	calm
9	8	calm
10	8	calm
11	8	calm
12	8	calm
13	8	calm
14	8	calm
15	8	calm
16	8	calm
17	8	calm
18	8	calm
19	8	calm
20	8	calm
21	8	calm
22	8	calm
23	8	calm
24	9	calm
25	9	calm
26	9	calm
27	9	calm
28	9	calm
29	9	calm
30	9	calm
31	9	calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 hours at the start of May to 10 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 36 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 6:24 AM to 6:41 AM, and sunset from 5:24 PM to 5:07 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)	11.0	11.0	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.6	10.6	10.6	10.6	10.6	10.6	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.4
Sunrise (AM)	6:24	6:25	6:25	6:26	6:27	6:27	6:28	6:28	6:29	6:29	6:30	6:30	6:31	6:32	6:32	6:33	6:33	6:34	6:34	6:35	6:36	6:36	6:37	6:37	6:38	6:38	6:39	6:39	6:40	6:40	6:41
Sunset (PM)	5:24	5:23	5:22	5:21	5:20	5:20	5:19	5:18	5:18	5:17	5:16	5:16	5:15	5:14	5:14	5:13	5:13	5:12	5:12	5:11	5:11	5:10	5:10	5:09	5:09	5:09	5:08	5:08	5:08	5:08	5:07

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.0	6:24	5:24
2	11.0	6:25	5:23
3	10.9	6:25	5:22
4	10.9	6:26	5:21
5	10.9	6:27	5:20
6	10.9	6:27	5:20
7	10.9	6:28	5:19
8	10.8	6:28	5:18
9	10.8	6:29	5:18
10	10.8	6:29	5:17
11	10.8	6:30	5:16
12	10.8	6:30	5:16
13	10.7	6:31	5:15
14	10.7	6:32	5:14
15	10.7	6:32	5:14
16	10.7	6:33	5:13
17	10.7	6:33	5:13
18	10.6	6:34	5:12
19	10.6	6:34	5:12
20	10.6	6:35	5:11
21	10.6	6:36	5:11
22	10.6	6:36	5:10
23	10.6	6:37	5:10
24	10.5	6:37	5:09
25	10.5	6:38	5:09
26	10.5	6:38	5:09
27	10.5	6:39	5:08
28	10.5	6:39	5:08
29	10.5	6:40	5:08
30	10.5	6:40	5:08
31	10.4	6:41	5:07

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 4.09 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.68 kWh/m² to a high of 6.03 kWh/m² in December across the year — May's 4.09 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

	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)	4.3	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.1	4.1	4.1	4.1	4.1	4.1	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	3.9	3.9	3.9	3.9	3.9
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	4.3	Bright
2	4.2	Bright
3	4.2	Bright
4	4.2	Bright
5	4.2	Bright
6	4.2	Bright
7	4.2	Bright
8	4.2	Bright
9	4.2	Bright
10	4.2	Bright
11	4.2	Bright
12	4.1	Bright
13	4.1	Bright
14	4.1	Bright
15	4.1	Bright
16	4.1	Bright
17	4.1	Bright
18	4.0	Bright
19	4.0	Bright
20	4.0	Bright
21	4.0	Bright
22	4.0	Bright
23	4.0	Moderate
24	4.0	Moderate
25	4.0	Moderate
26	4.0	Moderate
27	3.9	Moderate
28	3.9	Moderate
29	3.9	Moderate
30	3.9	Moderate
31	3.9	Moderate

Planning a trip in May

Hazard calendar for Piet Retief

In seasonPeak

None of Piet Retief's seasonal hazards are active in May. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do peak.

Piet Retief'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 May a good time to visit Piet Retief?

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

8.2

Sightseeing

2nd-best month of the year

5.2

Beach & pool

8th-best month of the year

May is one of the better times to visit Piet Retief for general sightseeing.

What to pack for Piet Retief in May

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

In May, Piet Retief sees daytime highs around 21°C and nights near 8°C. Little to plan around — just the basics. About 3 days see rain.

UV index in Piet Retief in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 6 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Piet Retief peaks around January 15 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 21 at about 5 (moderate).

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	11	7	6	5	5	7	8	9	11	13
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme

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

Air quality in Piet Retief in May

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Piet Retief is worst in May — around 56 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 3.0× the cleanest month (December, 19 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)	20	19	26	38	56	38	36	30	33	28	40	19
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Poor	Unhealthy	Poor	Poor	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Poor	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	20	Moderate
Feb	19	Moderate
Mar	26	Moderate
Apr	38	Poor
May	56	Unhealthy
Jun	38	Poor
Jul	36	Poor
Aug	30	Moderate
Sep	33	Moderate
Oct	28	Moderate
Nov	40	Poor
Dec	19	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Piet Retief?

Piet Retief sits at 27.0°S, 30.8°E, 1,251 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Driefontein, 38 km away.

Topography around Piet Retief

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Piet Retief has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 195 m around an average of 1,272 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 452 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,004 m.

The land around Piet Retief is covered by grassland (47%) and trees (32%) within 3 km, grassland (43%) and trees (42%) within 16 km, and grassland (56%) and trees (27%) within 80 km.

3 km

195 m

grassland 47%

16 km

452 m

grassland 43%

80 km

2,004 m

grassland 56%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain

← April Piet Retief year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

May weather nearby: Driefontein 38 km · Frischgewaagd 45 km · Fernie 69 km · Lobamba 71 km · Empuluzu 78 km · Manzini 80 km · Redhill 83 km · Mbabane 83 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 Piet Retief (-27.0071°, 30.8132°, elevation 1,251 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	22	10
2	22	10
3	22	10
4	22	10
5	22	10
6	22	10
7	22	9
8	22	9
9	22	9
10	22	9
11	22	9
12	22	9
13	22	9
14	22	8
15	21	8
16	21	8
17	21	8
18	21	8
19	21	8
20	21	8
21	21	8
22	21	8
23	21	7
24	21	7
25	21	7
26	21	7
27	21	7
28	21	7
29	21	7
30	20	7
31	20	7

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	79	21
2	79	21
3	81	19
4	81	19
5	82	18
6	83	17
7	83	17
8	82	18
9	83	17
10	83	17
11	83	17
12	83	17
13	83	17
14	83	17
15	83	17
16	83	17
17	83	17
18	83	17
19	83	17
20	83	17
21	83	17
22	84	16
23	84	16
24	84	16
25	85	15
26	85	15
27	85	15
28	85	15
29	86	14
30	86	14
31	86	14

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	90	10
2	92	8
3	93	7
4	94	6
5	95	5
6	96	4
7	96	4
8	97	3
9	97	3
10	98	2
11	98	2
12	98	2
13	98	2
14	98	2
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	99	1
22	99	1
23	99	1
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	79	21
2	79	21
3	81	19
4	81	19
5	82	18
6	83	17
7	83	17
8	82	18
9	83	17
10	83	17
11	83	17
12	83	17
13	83	17
14	83	17
15	83	17
16	83	17
17	83	17
18	83	17
19	83	17
20	83	17
21	83	17
22	84	16
23	84	16
24	84	16
25	85	15
26	85	15
27	85	15
28	85	15
29	86	14
30	86	14
31	86	14

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	90	10
2	92	8
3	93	7
4	94	6
5	95	5
6	96	4
7	96	4
8	97	3
9	97	3
10	98	2
11	98	2
12	98	2
13	98	2
14	98	2
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	99	1
22	99	1
23	99	1
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	79	21
2	79	21
3	81	19
4	81	19
5	82	18
6	83	17
7	83	17
8	82	18
9	83	17
10	83	17
11	83	17
12	83	17
13	83	17
14	83	17
15	83	17
16	83	17
17	83	17
18	83	17
19	83	17
20	83	17
21	83	17
22	84	16
23	84	16
24	84	16
25	85	15
26	85	15
27	85	15
28	85	15
29	86	14
30	86	14
31	86	14

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	90	10
2	92	8
3	93	7
4	94	6
5	95	5
6	96	4
7	96	4
8	97	3
9	97	3
10	98	2
11	98	2
12	98	2
13	98	2
14	98	2
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	99	1
22	99	1
23	99	1
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0