Richards Bay in Winter
In winter (June, July and August), Richards Bay sees average daytime highs around 23°C and overnight lows near 16°C, with 124 mm of rain over about 21 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 23°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 70% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels comfortable.
Winter is Richards Bay's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Richards Bay's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 23°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 16°C
- Rainfall
- 124 mm
- 21 wet days
- Avg wind
- 16 km/h
- Travel score
- 8.1
- best season of the year
- Months
- Jun · Jul · Aug
Temperature in Richards Bay in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 23°C.
A typical winter day in Richards Bay reaches about 23°C and drops to 16°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is August, the coolest July.
Richards Bay weather by month
How the three winter months (June, July and August) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29° / 23° | 108 | 13.5 | 13.6 | 5.3 |
| Feb | 29° / 23° | 95 | 11.9 | 13 | 5.3 |
| Mar | 28° / 22° | 97 | 12.3 | 12.2 | 5.9 |
| Apr | 27° / 20° | 79 | 10.4 | 11.3 | 6.8 |
| May | 25° / 18° | 56 | 7.6 | 10.6 | 7.8 |
| Jun | 24° / 16° | 39 | 6.6 | 10.2 | 8.2 |
| Jul | 23° / 15° | 47 | 6.9 | 10.4 | 8.0 |
| Aug | 24° / 16° | 39 | 7 | 11 | 8.0 |
| Sep | 25° / 18° | 54 | 8.2 | 11.8 | 7.4 |
| Oct | 25° / 19° | 80 | 12.2 | 12.7 | 6.5 |
| Nov | 26° / 20° | 93 | 13.2 | 13.4 | 6.0 |
| Dec | 28° / 22° | 86 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 5.9 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 70% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Richards Bay gets around 124 mm of rain over 21 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels comfortable — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 16 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 10 h 18 min in early June to 11 h 24 min by late August. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 3.5 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Richards Bay
None of Richards Bay's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.
Richards Bay sits in the South Indian Ocean cyclone belt; the season peaks January–March.
Is winter a good time to visit Richards Bay?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is one of the better times to visit Richards Bay for general sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.
What to pack for Richards Bay in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Richards Bay sees daytime highs around 23°C and nights near 16°C. Worth packing: light clothes. About 21 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Richards Bay in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 22°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.
The sea at the nearest coast (about 13 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 26 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 25 |
| Comfort | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Refreshing | Refreshing | Refreshing | Refreshing | Refreshing | Refreshing | Warm |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26 | Warm |
| Feb | 27 | Warm |
| Mar | 26 | Warm |
| Apr | 25 | Warm |
| May | 24 | Warm |
| Jun | 23 | Refreshing |
| Jul | 22 | Refreshing |
| Aug | 22 | Refreshing |
| Sep | 22 | Refreshing |
| Oct | 22 | Refreshing |
| Nov | 24 | Refreshing |
| Dec | 25 | Warm |
UV index in Richards Bay in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages 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 Richards Bay peaks around February 10 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 21 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) | 12 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 12 |
| Level | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | High | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | High | High | Extreme | Very high | Extreme |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12 | Extreme |
| Feb | 12 | Extreme |
| Mar | 11 | Extreme |
| Apr | 6 | High |
| May | 5 | Moderate |
| Jun | 4 | Moderate |
| Jul | 4 | Moderate |
| Aug | 6 | High |
| Sep | 6 | High |
| Oct | 10 | Extreme |
| Nov | 10 | Very high |
| Dec | 12 | Extreme |
Air quality in Richards Bay in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in Richards Bay is worst in July — around 21 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.4× the cleanest month (January, 6 µg/m³).
Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Richards Bay's WHO annual average of 13 µg/m³.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 6 | 7 | 9 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 7 |
| Level | Good | Good | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Good |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | Good |
| Feb | 7 | Good |
| Mar | 9 | Good |
| Apr | 15 | Moderate |
| May | 17 | Moderate |
| Jun | 19 | Moderate |
| Jul | 21 | Moderate |
| Aug | 18 | Moderate |
| Sep | 16 | Moderate |
| Oct | 12 | Moderate |
| Nov | 9 | Good |
| Dec | 7 | Good |
Where is Richards Bay?
Richards Bay sits at 28.8°S, 32.0°E, 9 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Empangeni, 14 km away.
Topography around Richards Bay
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Richards Bay.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Richards Bay has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 48 m around an average of 12 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 187 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,252 m.
The land around Richards Bay is covered by trees (25%) and water (23%) within 3 km, trees (37%) and water (33%) within 16 km, and water (34%), trees (29%) and grassland (24%) within 80 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 Richards Bay (-28.783°, 32.0377°, elevation 9 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.