Polokwane weather in August

In August, Polokwane sees average daytime highs of 23°C and overnight lows near 9°C, with 4 mm of rain across 0.9 wet days and about 11.2 hours of daylight. It is the 9th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 21°C in the first days to 24°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 82% of the time in August, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 54 min at the start of August to 11 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, August is Polokwane's 3rd-clearest and 4th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Polokwane's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 23°; 9th warmest
Overnight low: 9°; 3rd coldest
Rainfall: 4 mm; 0.9 wet days
Daylight: 11 h 12 min; 6:31 AM – 5:41 PM
Cloud cover: 18%; 3rd clearest
Wind: 10 km/h; 4th windiest
Solar energy: 5.08 kWh/m²
Travel score: 9.1; out of 10

Polokwane is South African city.

Density: 2,550/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1886

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

← July Polokwane year-round climate September →Best places to visit in August

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

Temperature in August

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 21°C in the first days to 24°C by the end.

A typical August day in Polokwane reaches about 23°C in the afternoon and slips back to 9°C overnight — a 14°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 18°C and 27°C. Set against its neighbours, August runs about 3°C warmer than July and about 3°C cooler than September.

	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	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	25
Avg low (°C)	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	11

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

Polokwane weather by month

How August compares with the rest of the year at a glance. August is the 9th-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°	116	13.7	13.3	6.0
Feb	27° / 17°	88	10.1	12.8	6.4
Mar	26° / 16°	74	9.5	12.2	7.0
Apr	24° / 13°	39	5.4	11.5	8.0
May	23° / 10°	11	2.5	10.9	8.7
Jun	20° / 7°	4	0.9	10.6	8.6
Jul	20° / 6°	3	0.7	10.7	8.5
Aug	23° / 9°	4	0.9	11.2	9.1
Sep	26° / 12°	13	2.7	11.9	8.5
Oct	27° / 14°	46	8	12.6	7.2
Nov	27° / 16°	98	13.5	13.2	6.0
Dec	27° / 17°	131	15.9	13.4	5.7

Cloud cover in August

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 82% of the time in August.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 9% of August, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 10%.

	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 (%)	92	92	91	91	91	91	91	91	91	91	91	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	91
Cloudier (%)	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	92	8
2	92	8
3	91	9
4	91	9
5	91	9
6	91	9
7	91	9
8	91	9
9	91	9
10	91	9
11	91	9
12	90	10
13	90	10
14	90	10
15	90	10
16	90	10
17	90	10
18	90	10
19	90	10
20	90	10
21	90	10
22	90	10
23	90	10
24	90	10
25	90	10
26	90	10
27	90	10
28	90	10
29	90	10
30	90	10
31	91	9

Chance of precipitation in August

Any precipitation

Polokwane gets around 4 mm of rain over 0.9 wet days in August. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 3% and peaks near 5% 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 (%)	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	5	5	5

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

Humidity in August

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, August 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 August

Winds average 10 km/h in August.

Across August, daily wind ranges from about 9 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)	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	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	9	calm
2	9	calm
3	9	calm
4	9	calm
5	9	calm
6	9	calm
7	9	calm
8	9	calm
9	9	calm
10	9	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 August

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 54 min at the start of August to 11 h 30 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 36 minutes over August. Sunrise moves from 6:42 AM to 6:17 AM, and sunset from 5:35 PM to 5:47 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)	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.2	11.2	11.2	11.2	11.2	11.3	11.3	11.3	11.3	11.4	11.4	11.4	11.4	11.4	11.5	11.5
Sunrise (AM)	6:42	6:41	6:41	6:40	6:39	6:39	6:38	6:37	6:37	6:36	6:35	6:34	6:34	6:33	6:32	6:31	6:31	6:30	6:29	6:28	6:27	6:26	6:25	6:24	6:23	6:22	6:21	6:20	6:19	6:18	6:17
Sunset (PM)	5:35	5:35	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:37	5:37	5:38	5:38	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:40	5:40	5:41	5:41	5:42	5:42	5:42	5:43	5:43	5:43	5:44	5:44	5:45	5:45	5:45	5:46	5:46	5:46	5:47

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.9	6:42	5:35
2	10.9	6:41	5:35
3	10.9	6:41	5:36
4	10.9	6:40	5:36
5	11.0	6:39	5:36
6	11.0	6:39	5:37
7	11.0	6:38	5:37
8	11.0	6:37	5:38
9	11.0	6:37	5:38
10	11.0	6:36	5:39
11	11.1	6:35	5:39
12	11.1	6:34	5:39
13	11.1	6:34	5:40
14	11.1	6:33	5:40
15	11.1	6:32	5:41
16	11.2	6:31	5:41
17	11.2	6:31	5:42
18	11.2	6:30	5:42
19	11.2	6:29	5:42
20	11.2	6:28	5:43
21	11.3	6:27	5:43
22	11.3	6:26	5:43
23	11.3	6:25	5:44
24	11.3	6:24	5:44
25	11.4	6:23	5:45
26	11.4	6:22	5:45
27	11.4	6:21	5:45
28	11.4	6:20	5:46
29	11.4	6:19	5:46
30	11.5	6:18	5:46
31	11.5	6:17	5:47

Solar energy in August

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in August, about 5.08 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.04 kWh/m² to a high of 6.67 kWh/m² in January across the year — August's 5.08 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	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)	4.6	4.6	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.9	4.9	4.9	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.6
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	4.6	Bright
2	4.6	Bright
3	4.7	Bright
4	4.7	Bright
5	4.7	Bright
6	4.8	Bright
7	4.8	Bright
8	4.8	Bright
9	4.9	Bright
10	4.9	Bright
11	4.9	Bright
12	5.0	Bright
13	5.0	Bright
14	5.0	Bright
15	5.1	Bright
16	5.1	Bright
17	5.1	Bright
18	5.2	Bright
19	5.2	Bright
20	5.2	Bright
21	5.2	Bright
22	5.3	Bright
23	5.3	Bright
24	5.3	Bright
25	5.4	Bright
26	5.4	Bright
27	5.5	Bright
28	5.5	Bright
29	5.5	Bright
30	5.6	Bright
31	5.6	Bright

Planning a trip in August

Hazard calendar for Polokwane

In seasonPeak

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

Polokwane's rainy season runs November–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is August a good time to visit Polokwane?

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

9.1

Sightseeing

1st-best month of the year

6.8

Beach & pool

4th-best month of the year

August is one of the better times to visit Polokwane for general sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Polokwane in August

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

In August, Polokwane sees daytime highs around 23°C and nights near 9°C. Worth packing: light clothes and sun protection.

light clothessun protection

UV index in Polokwane in August

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in August peaks around 8 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Polokwane peaks around January 17 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 18 at about 6 (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	14	13	9	7	6	6	8	10	10	13	14
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High	High	High	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

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

Air quality in Polokwane in August

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Polokwane is worst in August — around 26 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.5× the cleanest month (December, 7 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)	8	9	11	16	22	23	25	26	25	16	9	7
Level	Good	Good	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Good

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	8	Good
Feb	9	Good
Mar	11	Good
Apr	16	Moderate
May	22	Moderate
Jun	23	Moderate
Jul	25	Moderate
Aug	26	Moderate
Sep	25	Moderate
Oct	16	Moderate
Nov	9	Good
Dec	7	Good

Location & terrain

Where is Polokwane?

Polokwane sits at 23.9°S, 29.5°E, 1,315 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Mankweng, 24 km away.

Topography around Polokwane

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Polokwane has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 149 m around an average of 1,293 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 393 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,561 m.

The land around Polokwane is covered by artificial surfaces (61%) within 3 km, grassland (51%) and shrubs (21%) within 16 km, and shrubs (50%) and grassland (20%) within 80 km.

3 km

149 m

artificial surfaces 61%

16 km

393 m

grassland 51%

80 km

1,561 m

shrubs 50%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain

← July Polokwane year-round climate September →Best places to visit in August

August weather nearby: Mankweng 24 km · Lebowakgomo 46 km · Mokopane 57 km · Tzaneen 71 km · Duiwelskloof 72 km · Nkowakowa 83 km · Mookgophong 102 km · Louis Trichardt 105 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 Polokwane (-23.9045°, 29.4688°, elevation 1,315 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	8
4	22	8
5	22	8
6	22	8
7	22	8
8	22	8
9	22	8
10	22	8
11	22	8
12	22	8
13	23	9
14	23	9
15	23	9
16	23	9
17	23	9
18	23	9
19	23	9
20	23	9
21	23	9
22	24	10
23	24	10
24	24	10
25	24	10
26	24	10
27	24	10
28	24	10
29	24	10
30	24	10
31	25	11

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	92	8
2	92	8
3	91	9
4	91	9
5	91	9
6	91	9
7	91	9
8	91	9
9	91	9
10	91	9
11	91	9
12	90	10
13	90	10
14	90	10
15	90	10
16	90	10
17	90	10
18	90	10
19	90	10
20	90	10
21	90	10
22	90	10
23	90	10
24	90	10
25	90	10
26	90	10
27	90	10
28	90	10
29	90	10
30	90	10
31	91	9

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

	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	8
4	22	8
5	22	8
6	22	8
7	22	8
8	22	8
9	22	8
10	22	8
11	22	8
12	22	8
13	23	9
14	23	9
15	23	9
16	23	9
17	23	9
18	23	9
19	23	9
20	23	9
21	23	9
22	24	10
23	24	10
24	24	10
25	24	10
26	24	10
27	24	10
28	24	10
29	24	10
30	24	10
31	25	11

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	92	8
2	92	8
3	91	9
4	91	9
5	91	9
6	91	9
7	91	9
8	91	9
9	91	9
10	91	9
11	91	9
12	90	10
13	90	10
14	90	10
15	90	10
16	90	10
17	90	10
18	90	10
19	90	10
20	90	10
21	90	10
22	90	10
23	90	10
24	90	10
25	90	10
26	90	10
27	90	10
28	90	10
29	90	10
30	90	10
31	91	9

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

	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	8
4	22	8
5	22	8
6	22	8
7	22	8
8	22	8
9	22	8
10	22	8
11	22	8
12	22	8
13	23	9
14	23	9
15	23	9
16	23	9
17	23	9
18	23	9
19	23	9
20	23	9
21	23	9
22	24	10
23	24	10
24	24	10
25	24	10
26	24	10
27	24	10
28	24	10
29	24	10
30	24	10
31	25	11

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	92	8
2	92	8
3	91	9
4	91	9
5	91	9
6	91	9
7	91	9
8	91	9
9	91	9
10	91	9
11	91	9
12	90	10
13	90	10
14	90	10
15	90	10
16	90	10
17	90	10
18	90	10
19	90	10
20	90	10
21	90	10
22	90	10
23	90	10
24	90	10
25	90	10
26	90	10
27	90	10
28	90	10
29	90	10
30	90	10
31	91	9

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

	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