Alberton climate

South Africa · 26.27°S, 28.12°E · elevation 1,574 m · population 121,536

Warmest month
January
high 29 °C84 °F
Coldest month
July
low 1 °C34 °F
Wettest month
December
117 mm4.6 in
Best time to visit
February–May and August–November
by our comfort score
Annual precipitation
586 mm23 in
July driest
Year average
17 °C63 °F
cold semi-arid (BSk)

Alberton (South Africa) has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk). The average temperature over the year is 17 °C63 °F, and about 586 mm23 in of precipitation falls in an average year.

Temperature by month

Average highAverage low
0°5°10°15°20°25°30°40°50°60°70°80°JFMAMJJASOND29°84°1°34°January: high 29 °C / 84 °F, low 15 °C / 59 °FFebruary: high 28 °C / 83 °F, low 15 °C / 58 °FMarch: high 27 °C / 81 °F, low 13 °C / 55 °FApril: high 24 °C / 75 °F, low 9 °C / 49 °FMay: high 21 °C / 69 °F, low 5 °C / 41 °FJune: high 17 °C / 63 °F, low 2 °C / 35 °FJuly: high 18 °C / 64 °F, low 1 °C / 34 °FAugust: high 21 °C / 70 °F, low 4 °C / 39 °FSeptember: high 26 °C / 79 °F, low 8 °C / 47 °FOctober: high 28 °C / 83 °F, low 11 °C / 53 °FNovember: high 29 °C / 83 °F, low 13 °C / 55 °FDecember: high 29 °C / 83 °F, low 15 °C / 58 °F

Precipitation by month

Precipitation per month (mminches)
025507510012501234JJanuary: 107 mm / 4.2 inFFebruary: 74 mm / 2.9 inMMarch: 65 mm / 2.6 inAApril: 39 mm / 1.5 inMMay: 15 mm / 0.6 inJJune: 7 mm / 0.3 inJJuly: 3 mm / 0.1 inAAugust: 8 mm / 0.3 inSSeptember: 14 mm / 0.6 inOOctober: 54 mm / 2.1 inNNovember: 83 mm / 3.3 inDDecember: 117 mm / 4.6 in1174.6

Alberton climate table

Monthly averages, 2001–2025
MonthHigh °C°FLow °C°FMean °C°FPrecip. mminFrost days
Jan2984155922711074.20
Feb288315582171742.90
Mar278113552068652.60
Apr24759491662391.50
May21695411355150.61
Jun1763235104970.34
Jul186413494930.16
Aug2170439135580.32
Sep26798471763140.60
Oct288311532068542.10
Nov298313552169833.30
Dec2983155822711174.60
Year298413417635862313

“Year” row: highest monthly high, lowest monthly low, annual mean and annual total. Frost days are for the whole grid cell.

Humidity, cloud, sun and daylight
MonthHumid.CloudSolarDaylight
Jan62%63%6.713:37
Feb61%60%6.313:01
Mar61%53%5.612:19
Apr60%47%4.711:30
May54%30%4.310:51
Jun55%26%4.010:30
Jul49%22%4.310:38
Aug43%24%5.011:12
Sep37%29%6.011:59
Oct46%47%6.512:46
Nov54%58%6.813:27
Dec60%66%6.813:47

Humid. = average relative humidity at 2 m; cloud = average cloud amount; solar = average daily solar energy reaching the ground in kWh/m² (all-sky); daylight in hours:minutes, calculated for the 15th of each month.

What the climate of Alberton is like

The warmest month is January, with an average high of 29 °C84 °F and a low of 15 °C59 °F. The coldest is July, when highs average 18 °C64 °F and lows 1 °C34 °F. There is a clear seasonal cycle, with 12.4 °C22.4 °F between the average temperature of the warmest and the coolest month.

Annual precipitation is moderate at about 586 mm23 in. The wettest three-month stretch is November–January, which brings 52% of the annual total. Months with less than 20 mm0.8 in on average: May–September. The wettest month is December (117 mm4.6 in), the driest is July (3 mm0.1 in).

Relative humidity ranges from 37% in September to 62% in January. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 22%) are typical of July. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 7 km/h (4 mph) in March to 11 km/h (7 mph) in September. Daylight lasts from about 10.5 hours in June to 13.8 hours in December.

Best time to visit Alberton

Based on these averages, the most comfortable months for sightseeing and outdoor activities are February–May and August–November: average highs of 21 °C69 °F to 29 °C83 °F with 8 mm0.3 in to 83 mm3.3 in of precipitation per month.

Comfort score: months are ranked by how close they come to an average high of 21–28 °C (70–82 °F), lows above 5 °C (41 °F), little precipitation and moderate humidity. The best-ranked months of each place are recommended, even where none meets all of these. These are general rules of thumb applied to long-term averages.

What to pack for Alberton

  • Summer (December–February) — highs 2883 to 29 °C84 °F, lows around 15 °C58 °F, about 99 mm3.9 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses, an extra layer for the cooler mornings and evenings and an umbrella or light rain jacket.
  • Autumn (March–May) — highs 2169 to 27 °C81 °F, lows 541 to 13 °C55 °F, about 40 mm1.6 in of precipitation a month. Pack light layers — T-shirts plus a light sweater or jacket and an extra layer for the cooler mornings and evenings.
  • Winter (June–August) — highs 1763 to 21 °C70 °F, lows 134 to 4 °C39 °F, about 6 mm0.2 in of precipitation a month. Pack light layers — T-shirts plus a light sweater or jacket and an extra layer for the cooler mornings and evenings.
  • Spring (September–November) — highs 2679 to 29 °C83 °F, lows 847 to 13 °C55 °F, about 50 mm2.0 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses and an extra layer for the cooler mornings and evenings.

How Alberton compares

Compared with Johannesburg, about 11 km to the northwest, Alberton is on average 1.3 °C2.4 °F warmer and receives 9% less precipitation (586 mm23 in vs 642 mm25 in). The difference is largest in January (1.7 °C3 °F warmer).

Of the 49 places in South Africa covered by World Climates, Alberton is the 36th warmest by annual mean temperature and the 30th wettest by annual precipitation. See all of them on the South Africa climate page.

Places in other countries with the most similar temperature and rainfall pattern (seasons shifted for the other hemisphere where needed): Xichang (China, Cwa), San Luis (Argentina, Cwa) and Maseru (Lesotho, Cwa).

The same NASA POWER grid cell also contains Tokoza (pop. 106,000). Their long-term averages in this dataset are essentially the same as for Alberton, so they do not have separate pages.

Nearby places

  • Johannesburg 11 km · 16 °C60 °F · 642 mm25 in
  • Soweto 26 km · 17 °C62 °F · 586 mm23 in
  • Roodepoort 28 km · 16 °C60 °F · 642 mm25 in
  • Thembisa 32 km · 17 °C62 °F · 642 mm25 in
  • Etwatwa 37 km · 17 °C62 °F · 626 mm25 in
  • Nigel 40 km · 17 °C62 °F · 619 mm24 in
  • Krugersdorp 40 km · 16 °C61 °F · 633 mm25 in
  • Pretoria 59 km · 19 °C66 °F · 571 mm22 in

All places in South Africa

Frequently asked questions

What is the warmest month in Alberton?

January is the warmest month in Alberton, with an average high of 29 °C (84 °F) and an average low of 15 °C (59 °F).

What is the coldest month in Alberton?

July is the coldest month, with an average high of 18 °C (64 °F) and an average low of 1 °C (34 °F).

When does it rain the most in Alberton?

December is the wettest month with about 117 mm (4.6 in) of precipitation; July is the driest with about 3 mm (0.1 in).

What is the best time to visit Alberton?

Judging by long-term averages, the most comfortable months are February–May and August–November.

About this data

All figures are 25-year averages (January 2001 – December 2025) from the NASA POWER project. Temperature, humidity, wind and precipitation come from the MERRA-2 reanalysis (precipitation is the bias-corrected MERRA-2 product), cloud and solar values from CERES satellite data. They describe a grid cell of roughly 50–70 km, not a single weather station, so they can differ from airport records — most of all on coasts, in mountains and for rainfall. Average highs and lows are the monthly mean temperature plus/minus half of the average daily temperature range. Counts of rainy days are not part of this dataset.

Sources and method