Riversdale weather in May

In May, Riversdale sees average daytime highs of 22°C and overnight lows near 10°C, with 28 mm of rain across 5.2 wet days and about 10.3 hours of daylight. It is the 8th-warmest and 6th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 23°C in the first days to 20°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 44% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 42 min at the start of May to 9 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Riversdale's 8th-clearest and 12th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Riversdale's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 22°; 8th warmest
Overnight low: 10°; 5th coldest
Rainfall: 28 mm; 5.2 wet days
Daylight: 10 h 12 min; 7:24 AM – 5:38 PM
Cloud cover: 46%; 8th clearest
Wind: 9 km/h; 12th windiest
Solar energy: 3.06 kWh/m²
Travel score: 7.6; out of 10

Riversdale is town in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Founded: 1838

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

← April Riversdale 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 23°C in the first days to 20°C by the end.

A typical May day in Riversdale reaches about 22°C in the afternoon and slips back to 10°C overnight — a 12°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 17°C and 27°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 2°C cooler than April and about 3°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)	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	21	21	21	21	21	21	20	20	20
Avg low (°C)	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	8

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

Riversdale weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 8th-warmest and 6th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	28° / 17°	27	5.3	14	7.4
Feb	28° / 17°	23	5.3	13.3	7.1
Mar	27° / 16°	37	6.4	12.3	7.4
Apr	24° / 13°	35	5.9	11.2	7.7
May	22° / 10°	28	5.2	10.3	7.6
Jun	19° / 7°	26	5.4	9.8	7.2
Jul	19° / 7°	27	5.6	10	7.1
Aug	20° / 8°	30	5.8	10.7	7.2
Sep	21° / 10°	23	5	11.8	7.5
Oct	24° / 12°	38	5.8	12.9	7.7
Nov	25° / 14°	43	6.1	13.8	7.7
Dec	27° / 16°	28	5.3	14.2	7.5

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 44% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 20% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 35%.

	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 (%)	65	65	65	66	66	68	68	67	68	68	68	67	67	67	66	66	65	64	64	64	62	62	62	63	62	62	63	64	64	65	65
Cloudier (%)	35	35	35	34	34	32	32	33	32	32	32	33	33	33	34	34	35	36	36	36	38	38	38	37	38	38	37	36	36	35	35

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	65	35
2	65	35
3	65	35
4	66	34
5	66	34
6	68	32
7	68	32
8	67	33
9	68	32
10	68	32
11	68	32
12	67	33
13	67	33
14	67	33
15	66	34
16	66	34
17	65	35
18	64	36
19	64	36
20	64	36
21	62	38
22	62	38
23	62	38
24	63	37
25	62	38
26	62	38
27	63	37
28	64	36
29	64	36
30	65	35
31	65	35

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Riversdale gets around 28 mm of rain over 5.2 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 17% and peaks near 20% 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 (%)	20	19	19	19	18	17	17	16	16	15	15	14	14	14	14	14	14	15	15	16	16	17	17	17	18	18	18	19	19	19	19

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

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 93% 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 (%)	83	84	84	85	86	87	88	89	90	90	91	92	93	93	95	95	95	96	96	96	96	97	97	97	97	97	98	98	98	98	99
Comfortable (%)	16	15	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	9	8	7	6	6	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	1
Humid (%)	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	83	16	1
2	84	15	1
3	84	15	1
4	85	14	1
5	86	13	1
6	87	12	1
7	88	11	1
8	89	10	1
9	90	9	1
10	90	9	1
11	91	8	1
12	92	7	1
13	93	6	1
14	93	6	1
15	95	5	0
16	95	5	0
17	95	5	0
18	96	4	0
19	96	4	0
20	96	4	0
21	96	4	0
22	97	3	0
23	97	3	0
24	97	3	0
25	97	3	0
26	97	3	0
27	98	2	0
28	98	2	0
29	98	2	0
30	98	2	0
31	99	1	0

Wind in May

Winds average 9 km/h in May, the calmest month.

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	9	9	9	9	9	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	9	calm
20	9	calm
21	9	calm
22	9	calm
23	9	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 10 h 42 min at the start of May to 9 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 48 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 7:13 AM to 7:35 AM, and sunset from 5:52 PM to 5:30 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)	10.7	10.6	10.6	10.6	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.4	10.4	10.4	10.4	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	9.9	9.9
Sunrise (AM)	7:13	7:13	7:14	7:15	7:16	7:16	7:17	7:18	7:19	7:20	7:20	7:21	7:22	7:23	7:24	7:24	7:25	7:26	7:27	7:27	7:28	7:29	7:29	7:30	7:31	7:32	7:32	7:33	7:34	7:34	7:35
Sunset (PM)	5:52	5:51	5:50	5:49	5:48	5:47	5:46	5:45	5:44	5:43	5:42	5:41	5:41	5:40	5:39	5:38	5:37	5:37	5:36	5:35	5:35	5:34	5:34	5:33	5:32	5:32	5:31	5:31	5:31	5:30	5:30

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.7	7:13	5:52
2	10.6	7:13	5:51
3	10.6	7:14	5:50
4	10.6	7:15	5:49
5	10.5	7:16	5:48
6	10.5	7:16	5:47
7	10.5	7:17	5:46
8	10.4	7:18	5:45
9	10.4	7:19	5:44
10	10.4	7:20	5:43
11	10.4	7:20	5:42
12	10.3	7:21	5:41
13	10.3	7:22	5:41
14	10.3	7:23	5:40
15	10.3	7:24	5:39
16	10.2	7:24	5:38
17	10.2	7:25	5:37
18	10.2	7:26	5:37
19	10.2	7:27	5:36
20	10.1	7:27	5:35
21	10.1	7:28	5:35
22	10.1	7:29	5:34
23	10.1	7:29	5:34
24	10.0	7:30	5:33
25	10.0	7:31	5:32
26	10.0	7:32	5:32
27	10.0	7:32	5:31
28	10.0	7:33	5:31
29	10.0	7:34	5:31
30	9.9	7:34	5:30
31	9.9	7:35	5:30

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 3.06 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.63 kWh/m² to a high of 7.36 kWh/m² in December across the year — May's 3.06 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)	3.5	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	2.9	2.9	2.9	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.7	2.7	2.7
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	3.5	Moderate
2	3.4	Moderate
3	3.4	Moderate
4	3.4	Moderate
5	3.4	Moderate
6	3.3	Moderate
7	3.3	Moderate
8	3.3	Moderate
9	3.3	Moderate
10	3.3	Moderate
11	3.2	Moderate
12	3.2	Moderate
13	3.2	Moderate
14	3.1	Moderate
15	3.1	Moderate
16	3.1	Moderate
17	3.0	Moderate
18	3.0	Moderate
19	3.0	Moderate
20	3.0	Moderate
21	2.9	Moderate
22	2.9	Moderate
23	2.9	Moderate
24	2.8	Moderate
25	2.8	Moderate
26	2.8	Moderate
27	2.8	Moderate
28	2.8	Moderate
29	2.7	Moderate
30	2.7	Moderate
31	2.7	Moderate

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Riversdale?

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

7.6

Sightseeing

4th-best month of the year

5.2

Beach & pool

8th-best month of the year

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

What to pack for Riversdale in May

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

In May, Riversdale sees daytime highs around 22°C and nights near 10°C. Little to plan around — just the basics. About 5 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Riversdale in May

The nearest coast averages about 17°C in May — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 33 km away) is warmest in February at about 22°C and coldest in July near 15°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Dec 13 to Mar 25 — about 3.4 months when the water holds above 20°C.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sea temperature (°C)	21	22	21	19	17	16	15	16	16	17	19	20
Comfort	Refreshing	Refreshing	Refreshing	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Refreshing

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	21	Refreshing
Feb	22	Refreshing
Mar	21	Refreshing
Apr	19	Cool
May	17	Cool
Jun	16	Cool
Jul	15	Cool
Aug	16	Cool
Sep	16	Cool
Oct	17	Cool
Nov	19	Cool
Dec	20	Refreshing

UV index in Riversdale in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May 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 Riversdale peaks around January 14 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 20 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 11 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	13	10	10	6	4	3	3	4	6	10	12	12
Level	Extreme	Very high	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	High	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	13	Extreme
Feb	10	Very high
Mar	10	Very high
Apr	6	High
May	4	Moderate
Jun	3	Moderate
Jul	3	Moderate
Aug	4	Moderate
Sep	6	High
Oct	10	Extreme
Nov	12	Extreme
Dec	12	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Riversdale?

Riversdale sits at 34.1°S, 21.3°E, 121 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Swellendam, 76 km away.

Topography around Riversdale

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Riversdale has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 160 m around an average of 142 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,339 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,273 m.

The land around Riversdale is covered by cropland (39%) and shrubs (24%) within 3 km, cropland (40%), shrubs (26%) and grassland (24%) within 16 km, and shrubs (32%), grassland (28%) and water (23%) within 80 km.

3 km

160 m

cropland 39%

16 km

1,339 m

cropland 40%

80 km

2,273 m

shrubs 32%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater

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

May weather nearby: Swellendam 76 km · Mossel Bay 82 km · Groot-Brakrivier 89 km · Oudtshoorn 103 km · Montagu 110 km · George 112 km · Ashton 115 km · Bredasdorp 122 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 Riversdale (-34.0934°, 21.2572°, elevation 121 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. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. 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	23	11
2	23	11
3	23	11
4	23	11
5	23	11
6	23	11
7	23	11
8	23	11
9	23	11
10	23	11
11	23	11
12	23	11
13	23	10
14	23	10
15	22	10
16	22	10
17	22	10
18	22	10
19	22	10
20	22	10
21	22	10
22	22	10
23	21	10
24	21	9
25	21	9
26	21	9
27	21	9
28	21	9
29	20	9
30	20	9
31	20	8

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	65	35
2	65	35
3	65	35
4	66	34
5	66	34
6	68	32
7	68	32
8	67	33
9	68	32
10	68	32
11	68	32
12	67	33
13	67	33
14	67	33
15	66	34
16	66	34
17	65	35
18	64	36
19	64	36
20	64	36
21	62	38
22	62	38
23	62	38
24	63	37
25	62	38
26	62	38
27	63	37
28	64	36
29	64	36
30	65	35
31	65	35

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	83	16	1
2	84	15	1
3	84	15	1
4	85	14	1
5	86	13	1
6	87	12	1
7	88	11	1
8	89	10	1
9	90	9	1
10	90	9	1
11	91	8	1
12	92	7	1
13	93	6	1
14	93	6	1
15	95	5	0
16	95	5	0
17	95	5	0
18	96	4	0
19	96	4	0
20	96	4	0
21	96	4	0
22	97	3	0
23	97	3	0
24	97	3	0
25	97	3	0
26	97	3	0
27	98	2	0
28	98	2	0
29	98	2	0
30	98	2	0
31	99	1	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	65	35
2	65	35
3	65	35
4	66	34
5	66	34
6	68	32
7	68	32
8	67	33
9	68	32
10	68	32
11	68	32
12	67	33
13	67	33
14	67	33
15	66	34
16	66	34
17	65	35
18	64	36
19	64	36
20	64	36
21	62	38
22	62	38
23	62	38
24	63	37
25	62	38
26	62	38
27	63	37
28	64	36
29	64	36
30	65	35
31	65	35

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	83	16	1
2	84	15	1
3	84	15	1
4	85	14	1
5	86	13	1
6	87	12	1
7	88	11	1
8	89	10	1
9	90	9	1
10	90	9	1
11	91	8	1
12	92	7	1
13	93	6	1
14	93	6	1
15	95	5	0
16	95	5	0
17	95	5	0
18	96	4	0
19	96	4	0
20	96	4	0
21	96	4	0
22	97	3	0
23	97	3	0
24	97	3	0
25	97	3	0
26	97	3	0
27	98	2	0
28	98	2	0
29	98	2	0
30	98	2	0
31	99	1	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	65	35
2	65	35
3	65	35
4	66	34
5	66	34
6	68	32
7	68	32
8	67	33
9	68	32
10	68	32
11	68	32
12	67	33
13	67	33
14	67	33
15	66	34
16	66	34
17	65	35
18	64	36
19	64	36
20	64	36
21	62	38
22	62	38
23	62	38
24	63	37
25	62	38
26	62	38
27	63	37
28	64	36
29	64	36
30	65	35
31	65	35

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	83	16	1
2	84	15	1
3	84	15	1
4	85	14	1
5	86	13	1
6	87	12	1
7	88	11	1
8	89	10	1
9	90	9	1
10	90	9	1
11	91	8	1
12	92	7	1
13	93	6	1
14	93	6	1
15	95	5	0
16	95	5	0
17	95	5	0
18	96	4	0
19	96	4	0
20	96	4	0
21	96	4	0
22	97	3	0
23	97	3	0
24	97	3	0
25	97	3	0
26	97	3	0
27	98	2	0
28	98	2	0
29	98	2	0
30	98	2	0
31	99	1	0