Geography and Climate
Durban has a subtropical climate with hot and humid summers and pleasantly warm and dry winters, which are frost-free. Durban has an annual rainfall of 1,009 millimetres (39.7 in) The average temperature in summer ranges around 28 °C (82 °F) while in winter the average temperature is 20 °C (68 °F). Sunrise in Durban on summer solstice occurs at 04h45 and sunset at 19h00; on winter solstice sunrise is at 06h30 and sunset at 17h20. The rainy season is in summer which begins sometime in November, ending in mid-April. Summers are sunny, hot and humid during the day, but are relieved by afternoon or evening thunderstorms. The city is also occasionally effected by tropical storms and cyclones during the cyclone season which is from 15 November to 30 April. Winters, which are from June to August, are generally warm and sunny.
Durban and its suburbs are hilly, except for locations in and around the central business district and the harbour.
| Climate data for Durban | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 36 (97) |
34 (93) |
35 (95) |
36 (97) |
34 (93) |
36 (97) |
34 (93) |
36 (97) |
37 (99) |
40 (104) |
34 (93) |
36 (97) |
40 (104) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 28 (82) |
28 (82) |
28 (82) |
26 (79) |
25 (77) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
24 (75) |
25 (77) |
27 (81) |
25 (77) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 21 (70) |
21 (70) |
20 (68) |
17 (63) |
14 (57) |
11 (52) |
11 (52) |
13 (55) |
15 (59) |
17 (63) |
18 (64) |
20 (68) |
17 (63) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 14 (57) |
13 (55) |
12 (54) |
9 (48) |
5 (41) |
4 (39) |
3 (37) |
3 (37) |
5 (41) |
8 (46) |
10 (50) |
12 (54) |
3 (37) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 134 (5.28) |
113 (4.45) |
120 (4.72) |
73 (2.87) |
59 (2.32) |
28 (1.1) |
39 (1.54) |
62 (2.44) |
73 (2.87) |
98 (3.86) |
108 (4.25) |
102 (4.02) |
1,009 (39.72) |
| Avg. rainy days | 15 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 130 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 182.9 | 180.8 | 201.5 | 207.0 | 223.2 | 225.0 | 229.4 | 217.0 | 174.0 | 170.5 | 165.0 | 189.1 | 2,365.4 |
| Source #1: SAWS | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: Hong Kong Observatory (sun only 1961-1990). | |||||||||||||
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