Thaba Nchu in Winter

In winter (June, July and August), Thaba Nchu sees average daytime highs around 18°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 40 mm of rain over about 6 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.

Over the season highs climb from about 18°C in early June to 22°C by late August. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 79% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Thaba Nchu's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Thaba Nchu's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
18°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
2°C
Rainfall
40 mm
6 wet days
Avg wind
11 km/h
Travel score
7.6
best season of the year
Months
Jun · Jul · Aug

Temperature in Thaba Nchu in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Over the season highs climb from about 18°C in early June to 22°C by late August.

A typical winter day in Thaba Nchu reaches about 18°C and drops to 2°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is August, the coolest July.

10°20°30°JunJulAug

How winter really feels in Thaba Nchu

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 66 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
66
wind chill below the day's low

The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Thaba Nchu 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.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan29° / 17°10213.513.75.1
Feb28° / 16°8712.9135.6
Mar27° / 14°8211.312.26.7
Apr23° / 10°527.711.37.6
May20° / 213.410.67.9
Jun17° / 13210.27.3
Jul17° / 81.710.37.4
Aug20° / 182.6118.2
Sep24° / 162.811.88.6
Oct26° / 11°537.712.77.4
Nov28° / 13°779.213.56.7
Dec29° / 15°8811.613.85.5

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 79% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%JunJulAug

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Thaba Nchu gets around 40 mm of rain over 6 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%JunJulAug

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%JunJulAug

Wind in Winter

Winds average 11 km/h across winter.

051015JunJulAug

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

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.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJunJulAug

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 4.1 kWh/m².

0246JunJulAug
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Thaba Nchu

In seasonPeak

None of Thaba Nchu's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.

Thaba Nchu's rainy season runs October–April, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Is winter a good time to visit Thaba Nchu?

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.

7.6
Sightseeing
1st-best month of the year
2.7
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is one of the better times to visit Thaba Nchu for general sightseeing.

What to pack for Thaba Nchu in Winter

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

In winter, Thaba Nchu sees daytime highs around 18°C and nights near 2°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and sun protection. About 6 days see rain.

a warm layersun protection

UV index in Thaba Nchu in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 5 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Thaba Nchu peaks around January 13 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 22 at about 4 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highHighModerateHighVery highExtremeJan 13UV 15Jun 22UV 4
UV index (midday)Level
Jan15Extreme
Feb13Extreme
Mar11Extreme
Apr8Very high
May6High
Jun4Moderate
Jul5Moderate
Aug7High
Sep8Very high
Oct11Extreme
Nov12Extreme
Dec14Extreme

Air quality in Thaba Nchu in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Thaba Nchu is worst in August — around 28 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 4.6× the cleanest month (December, 6 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodAug 1128 µg/m³Dec 196 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb10Good
Mar15Moderate
Apr17Moderate
May23Moderate
Jun26Moderate
Jul28Moderate
Aug28Moderate
Sep24Moderate
Oct14Moderate
Nov8Good
Dec6Good
Location & terrain

Where is Thaba Nchu?

Thaba Nchu sits at 29.2°S, 26.8°E, 1,531 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Botshabelo, 13 km away.

Topography around Thaba Nchu

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Thaba Nchu has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 172 m around an average of 1,519 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 748 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 848 m.

The land around Thaba Nchu is covered by grassland (45%), artificial surfaces (30%) and cropland (23%) within 3 km, grassland (70%) and cropland (22%) within 16 km, and grassland (76%) and cropland (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
172 m
16 km
748 m
80 km
848 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Botshabelo 13 km · Ladybrand 60 km · Bloemfontein 61 km · Maseru 64 km · Mabote 67 km · Winnie Mandela 68 km · Hlohlolwane 78 km · Mafeteng 78 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
Christian 86%or other traditional African religions 5%nothing in particular 5%Muslim 2%

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 Thaba Nchu (-29.2093°, 26.839°, elevation 1,531 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.