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Climate · Cape Town

Cape Town in December

Warm and mostly dry, as the days hold steady.

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years

December in Cape Town is warm: highs near 79°F, lows near 61°F. Rain falls on about one day a week, and daylight holds at about 14 hours 22 minutes.December in Cape Town is warm: highs near 26°C, lows near 16°C. Rain falls on about one day a week, and daylight holds at about 14 hours 22 minutes.

High
79°F26°Caverage
Low
61°F16°Caverage
Wet days
1a week · 13% of days
Daylight
14h 22mon average

Is December a good time to visit Cape Town?

Yes. December is one of Cape Town's best months (December to March).

How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 70°F to 80°F, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 21°C to 27°C, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.

How December sits in the year

week by week

Temperature

Highs near 79°F in December, against 65°F to 82°F through the year.Highs near 26°C in December, against 18°C to 28°C through the year.

Chance of a wet day

13% of days in December, against 10% to 37% through the year.

Cloud cover

28% cover in December, against 16% to 44% through the year.

Daylight

14h 22m in December, against 9h 56m to 14h 22m through the year.

Week by week, lightly smoothed, with December shaded. The olive line marks the best months. Hover or tap a week for its figures.

Either side

  1. November75°24°low 57°low 14°1 wet day a weekRain on about one day a week.
  2. December79°26°low 61°low 16°1 wet day a weekRain on about one day a week.
  3. January81°27°low 63°low 17°1 wet day a weekRain on about one day a week.

Where Cape Town sits, in December

Africa/Johannesburg
this place
typical high in December 40°F4°C95°F35°C
Sunrise, mid-December
5:30 AMsets 7:53 PM
Above the sea
20 mlow-lying
Latitude
33.9°Ssouthern hemisphere
Nearest of ours
Franschhoek64 km east

The land around Cape Town, shaded by its typical high in December, the planning map's own layer. Hover the map for the figure at that spot; tap it on a phone. Clock times are local, for the 15th.

Elsewhere in South Africa in December

high · low · wet days
See December on the planning mapThe whole year in Cape Town

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years (1995–2024), read 8 km north-east of Cape Town. Its own grid square is mostly sea and holds only a daily average, so the page reads the nearest square with a true high and low near the town's height. Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 3.1°F cold in the source data and are raised to match.Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 1.7°C cold in the source data and are raised to match. Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not. Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.

Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not.

Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.