Pietermaritzburg weather in July

In July, Pietermaritzburg sees average daytime highs of 21°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 29 mm of rain across 3.8 wet days and about 10.3 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 21°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 75% of the time in July, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 06 min at the start of July to 10 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, July is Pietermaritzburg's 1st-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Pietermaritzburg's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 21°; 12th warmest
Overnight low: 7°; 1st coldest
Rainfall: 29 mm; 3.8 wet days
Daylight: 10 h 18 min; 6:56 AM – 5:12 PM
Cloud cover: 23%; 1st clearest
Wind: 8 km/h; 7th windiest
Solar energy: 3.51 kWh/m²
Travel score: 8.1; out of 10

Pietermaritzburg is city in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Density: 6,661/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1839

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

← June Pietermaritzburg year-round climate August →Best places to visit in July

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

Temperature in July

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 21°C through the month.

A typical July day in Pietermaritzburg reaches about 21°C in the afternoon and slips back to 7°C overnight — a 14°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 16°C and 26°C. Set against its neighbours, July runs on par with June and about 1°C cooler than August.

	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)	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22
Avg low (°C)	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	8

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

Pietermaritzburg weather by month

How July compares with the rest of the year at a glance. July is the 12th-warmest and 11th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	27° / 17°	134	18	13.7	5.3
Feb	27° / 17°	113	14.9	13.1	5.5
Mar	26° / 16°	96	14.3	12.2	6.1
Apr	24° / 14°	58	9.7	11.3	7.1
May	23° / 10°	29	5.1	10.5	8.1
Jun	21° / 7°	20	3.4	10.1	8.2
Jul	21° / 7°	29	3.8	10.3	8.1
Aug	23° / 9°	32	5.9	10.9	7.9
Sep	24° / 12°	56	9.5	11.8	7.2
Oct	24° / 13°	92	15.4	12.7	6.1
Nov	25° / 14°	116	17.2	13.5	5.5
Dec	26° / 16°	129	19.2	13.9	5.2

Cloud cover in July

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 75% of the time in July, the clearest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 9% of July, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 16%.

	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 (%)	84	84	84	84	84	84	84	84	84	84	85	85	85	84	84	84	85	84	84	84	84	83	83	83	83	83	83	82	82	82	81
Cloudier (%)	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	15	15	15	16	16	16	15	16	16	16	16	17	17	17	17	17	17	18	18	18	19

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

Chance of precipitation in July

Any precipitation

Pietermaritzburg gets around 29 mm of rain over 3.8 wet days in July. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 13% and peaks near 15% 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 (%)	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	14	14	14	14	14	14	15	15	15	15	15

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

Humidity in July

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, July lands in the dry band about 100% 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 (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

Wind in July

Winds average 8 km/h in July.

Across July, daily wind ranges from about 8 km/h on the calmest days to 8 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	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8
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	8	calm
25	8	calm
26	8	calm
27	8	calm
28	8	calm
29	8	calm
30	8	calm
31	8	calm

Sunrise & sunset in July

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 06 min at the start of July to 10 h 30 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 24 minutes over July. Sunrise moves from 6:58 AM to 6:48 AM, and sunset from 5:05 PM to 5:21 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)	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.4	10.4	10.4	10.4	10.4	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Sunrise (AM)	6:58	6:58	6:58	6:58	6:58	6:58	6:58	6:58	6:58	6:57	6:57	6:57	6:57	6:57	6:56	6:56	6:56	6:55	6:55	6:54	6:54	6:54	6:53	6:53	6:52	6:51	6:51	6:50	6:50	6:49	6:48
Sunset (PM)	5:05	5:06	5:06	5:07	5:07	5:07	5:08	5:08	5:09	5:09	5:10	5:10	5:11	5:11	5:12	5:12	5:13	5:13	5:14	5:14	5:15	5:15	5:16	5:17	5:17	5:18	5:18	5:19	5:20	5:20	5:21

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.1	6:58	5:05
2	10.1	6:58	5:06
3	10.1	6:58	5:06
4	10.1	6:58	5:07
5	10.1	6:58	5:07
6	10.2	6:58	5:07
7	10.2	6:58	5:08
8	10.2	6:58	5:08
9	10.2	6:58	5:09
10	10.2	6:57	5:09
11	10.2	6:57	5:10
12	10.2	6:57	5:10
13	10.2	6:57	5:11
14	10.2	6:57	5:11
15	10.3	6:56	5:12
16	10.3	6:56	5:12
17	10.3	6:56	5:13
18	10.3	6:55	5:13
19	10.3	6:55	5:14
20	10.3	6:54	5:14
21	10.3	6:54	5:15
22	10.4	6:54	5:15
23	10.4	6:53	5:16
24	10.4	6:53	5:17
25	10.4	6:52	5:17
26	10.4	6:51	5:18
27	10.5	6:51	5:18
28	10.5	6:50	5:19
29	10.5	6:50	5:20
30	10.5	6:49	5:20
31	10.5	6:48	5:21

Solar energy in July

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in July, about 3.51 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.29 kWh/m² to a high of 5.51 kWh/m² in January across the year — July's 3.51 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)	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	3.3	Moderate
2	3.3	Moderate
3	3.3	Moderate
4	3.4	Moderate
5	3.4	Moderate
6	3.4	Moderate
7	3.4	Moderate
8	3.4	Moderate
9	3.4	Moderate
10	3.4	Moderate
11	3.4	Moderate
12	3.5	Moderate
13	3.5	Moderate
14	3.5	Moderate
15	3.5	Moderate
16	3.5	Moderate
17	3.5	Moderate
18	3.5	Moderate
19	3.5	Moderate
20	3.6	Moderate
21	3.6	Moderate
22	3.6	Moderate
23	3.6	Moderate
24	3.6	Moderate
25	3.6	Moderate
26	3.6	Moderate
27	3.7	Moderate
28	3.7	Moderate
29	3.7	Moderate
30	3.7	Moderate
31	3.7	Moderate

Planning a trip in July

Hazard calendar for Pietermaritzburg

In seasonPeak

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

Pietermaritzburg'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 July a good time to visit Pietermaritzburg?

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

8.1

Sightseeing

2nd-best month of the year

5.1

Beach & pool

9th-best month of the year

July is one of the better times to visit Pietermaritzburg for general sightseeing.

What to pack for Pietermaritzburg in July

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

In July, Pietermaritzburg sees daytime highs around 21°C and nights near 7°C. Worth packing: a warm layer. About 4 days see rain.

a warm layer

UV index in Pietermaritzburg in July

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in July peaks around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Pietermaritzburg peaks around January 16 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.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	14	13	11	6	5	4	4	6	7	11	11	13
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	High	High	Moderate	Moderate	High	High	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	14	Extreme
Feb	13	Extreme
Mar	11	Extreme
Apr	6	High
May	5	High
Jun	4	Moderate
Jul	4	Moderate
Aug	6	High
Sep	7	High
Oct	11	Extreme
Nov	11	Extreme
Dec	13	Extreme

Air quality in Pietermaritzburg in July

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Pietermaritzburg is worst in July — around 100 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 4.5× the cleanest month (January, 22 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)	22	28	42	60	91	92	100	77	62	39	35	23
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Poor	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Poor	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	22	Moderate
Feb	28	Moderate
Mar	42	Poor
Apr	60	Unhealthy
May	91	Unhealthy
Jun	92	Unhealthy
Jul	100	Unhealthy
Aug	77	Unhealthy
Sep	62	Unhealthy
Oct	39	Poor
Nov	35	Moderate
Dec	23	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Pietermaritzburg?

Pietermaritzburg sits at 29.6°S, 30.4°E, 636 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Mpophomeni, 21 km away.

Topography around Pietermaritzburg

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Pietermaritzburg has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 130 m around an average of 653 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,026 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,321 m.

The land around Pietermaritzburg is covered by artificial surfaces (46%) and trees (33%) within 3 km, trees (43%) and grassland (34%) within 16 km, and grassland (40%) and trees (39%) within 80 km.

3 km

130 m

artificial surfaces 46%

16 km

1,026 m

trees 43%

80 km

2,321 m

grassland 40%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← June Pietermaritzburg year-round climate August →Best places to visit in July

July weather nearby: Mpophomeni 21 km · Howick 22 km · Richmond 31 km · Mpumalanga 32 km · Pinetown 53 km · Ntuzuma 55 km · Folweni 58 km · Mooi River 60 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 Pietermaritzburg (-29.6168°, 30.3928°, elevation 636 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	21	7
2	21	7
3	21	7
4	21	7
5	21	7
6	21	7
7	21	7
8	21	7
9	21	7
10	21	7
11	21	7
12	21	7
13	21	7
14	21	7
15	21	7
16	21	7
17	21	7
18	21	7
19	21	7
20	21	7
21	21	7
22	21	7
23	22	7
24	22	7
25	22	7
26	22	7
27	22	8
28	22	8
29	22	8
30	22	8
31	22	8

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

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

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

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

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

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

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

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

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

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

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100