Thembisa weather in January

In January, Thembisa sees average daytime highs of 26°C and overnight lows near 16°C, with 110 mm of rain across 15.3 wet days and about 13.4 hours of daylight. It is the 1st-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 26°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 35% of the time in January, and the air most often feels comfortable.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 36 min at the start of January to 13 h 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Thembisa's 11th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Thembisa's year-round climate.

Daytime high
26°
1st warmest
Overnight low
16°
12th coldest
Rainfall
110 mm
15.3 wet days
Daylight
13 h 30 min
5:33 AM – 7:00 PM
Cloud cover
54%
11th clearest
Wind
10 km/h
8th windiest
Solar energy
6.59 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.9
out of 10

Thembisa is township in South Africa.

Density
11,955/km²
people per km²
Founded
1957

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

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 26°C through the month.

A typical January day in Thembisa reaches about 26°C in the afternoon and slips back to 16°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 22°C and 30°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and on par with February.

10°15°20°25°30°35°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
12716
22716
32616
42616
52616
62616
72616
82616
92616
102616
112616
122616
132616
142616
152616
162616
172616
182616
192616
202616
212616
222616
232617
242617
252617
262617
272617
282617
292617
302617
312617

Thembisa weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 1st-warmest and 2nd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan26° / 16°11015.313.45.9
Feb26° / 16°9712.612.96.2
Mar25° / 15°8010.812.26.9
Apr23° / 12°376.411.47.7
May21° / 142.610.78.3
Jun19° / 71.210.48.2
Jul19° / 30.610.58.3
Aug21° / 81.611.18.7
Sep25° / 11°19311.88.6
Oct26° / 13°659.612.67.1
Nov26° / 15°8813.313.36.3
Dec26° / 16°11616.413.65.8

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 35% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 23% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 42%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
15644
25644
35743
45743
55842
65842
75842
85842
95842
105842
115743
125842
135743
145743
155743
165644
175644
185644
195644
205644
215842
225842
235743
245842
255941
265941
276040
286139
296040
306139
316139

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Thembisa gets around 110 mm of rain over 15.3 wet days in January. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 49% and peaks near 52% on the wettest days.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
152
251
351
450
550
649
749
848
948
1048
1148
1248
1348
1448
1548
1648
1749
1849
1949
2050
2150
2250
2350
2451
2551
2651
2751
2850
2950
3050
3149

Humidity in January

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, January lands in the comfortable band about 47% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
1224830
2224830
3224730
4234730
5234730
6234730
7234730
8234730
9234730
10234730
11224730
12224731
13214732
14214732
15204733
16204734
17194734
18184735
19184735
20174736
21174736
22164736
23164737
24164737
25164736
26164736
27164836
28164835
29174934
30174934
31175033

Wind in January

Winds average 10 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 10 km/h on the calmest days to 10 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
110calm
210calm
310calm
410calm
510calm
610calm
710calm
810calm
910calm
1010calm
1110calm
1210calm
1310calm
1410calm
1510calm
1610calm
1710calm
1810calm
1910calm
2010calm
2110calm
2210calm
2310calm
2410calm
2510calm
2610calm
2710calm
2810calm
2910calm
3010calm
3110calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 36 min at the start of January to 13 h 12 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 24 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 5:22 AM to 5:44 AM, and sunset from 6:58 PM to 6:57 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
113.65:226:58
213.65:236:59
313.65:236:59
413.65:246:59
513.65:256:59
613.65:256:59
713.65:267:00
813.55:277:00
913.55:287:00
1013.55:287:00
1113.55:297:00
1213.55:307:00
1313.55:307:00
1413.55:317:00
1513.55:327:00
1613.55:337:00
1713.45:337:00
1813.45:347:00
1913.45:357:00
2013.45:367:00
2113.45:367:00
2213.45:377:00
2313.45:386:59
2413.35:396:59
2513.35:396:59
2613.35:406:59
2713.35:416:58
2813.35:426:58
2913.35:426:58
3013.25:436:57
3113.25:446:57

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 6.59 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.92 kWh/m² to a high of 6.73 kWh/m² in December across the year — January's 6.59 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
16.8Intense
26.8Intense
36.8Intense
46.8Intense
56.8Intense
66.7Intense
76.7Intense
86.7Intense
96.7Intense
106.7Intense
116.7Intense
126.6Intense
136.6Intense
146.6Intense
156.6Intense
166.5Intense
176.5Intense
186.5Intense
196.5Intense
206.5Intense
216.5Intense
226.5Intense
236.5Intense
246.5Intense
256.5Intense
266.5Intense
276.5Intense
286.5Intense
296.5Intense
306.5Intense
316.5Intense
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Thembisa

In seasonPeak

In January, Thembisa sits inside its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Thembisa'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 January a good time to visit Thembisa?

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

5.9
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
5.8
Beach & pool
7th-best month of the year

January is a reasonable time to visit Thembisa for sightseeing.

What to pack for Thembisa in January

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

In January, Thembisa sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 16°C. Pack rain gear and sun protection. Worth having: light clothes. About 15 days see rain.

rain gearsun protectionlight clothes

UV index in Thembisa in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 14 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Thembisa peaks around December 23 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 19 at about 5 (high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highHighVery highExtremeDec 23UV 14Jun 19UV 5
UV index (midday)Level
Jan14Extreme
Feb13Extreme
Mar12Extreme
Apr9Very high
May6High
Jun5High
Jul6High
Aug7Very high
Sep9Very high
Oct11Extreme
Nov12Extreme
Dec14Extreme

Air quality in Thembisa in January

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Thembisa is worst in June — around 259 µg/m³ PM2.5 (very unhealthy), about 6.0× the cleanest month (January, 43 µg/m³).

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

0306090120150180210240270JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecPoorUnhealthyVery unhealthyUnhealthyPoorJun 23259 µg/m³Jan 1344 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan43Poor
Feb63Unhealthy
Mar101Unhealthy
Apr158Very unhealthy
May232Very unhealthy
Jun259Very unhealthy
Jul259Very unhealthy
Aug200Very unhealthy
Sep144Unhealthy
Oct91Unhealthy
Nov65Unhealthy
Dec50Poor
Location & terrain

Where is Thembisa?

Thembisa sits at 26.0°S, 28.2°E, 1,577 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Ivory Park, 3.0 km away.

Topography around Thembisa

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Thembisa has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 136 m around an average of 1,568 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 324 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 891 m.

The land around Thembisa is covered by artificial surfaces (74%) within 3 km, grassland (41%) and artificial surfaces (31%) within 16 km, and grassland (53%) and cropland (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
136 m
16 km
324 m
80 km
891 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Ivory Park 3.0 km · Midstream 9.0 km · Midrand 11 km · Centurion 16 km · Alexandra 18 km · Edenvale 18 km · Diepsloot 23 km · Benoni 23 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 Thembisa (-25.9964°, 28.2268°, elevation 1,577 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).