Weather in Pietermaritzburg in December

Shoulder season. December sits in between. You will get good days and you will lose some. You should expect rain on 25 days of the month, which is more days wet than dry.

December ranks 10 of 12 — near the bottom of Pietermaritzburg's year. June is the month that works, and the swing between the two is 35 points, which is a different holiday rather than a slightly better one.

Rain on 25 of the month's 31 days, 6 of them heavy. At that frequency a wet-weather backup is not a contingency, it is the itinerary — book the indoor things first and treat the clear days as the bonus. Nothing specialised needed — this is the month you pack for the trip rather than for the weather.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: 9 days top 30 °C — hot spells arrive, but they break. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest December day reached 39.6 °C and the coldest night fell to 9 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 39 mm — roughly 22% of the month's rain in one day.

December is statistically steady but not small: the year-to-year variation is modest in relative terms, yet the wettest December on record still delivered 289 mm against 103 mm in the driest. In a month this wet, even a tame spread is a lot of rain in absolute terms — the 180 mm average is a reasonable planning figure, not a promise.

Wind is light at 4.2 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity runs at 79%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How December sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 26.9 °C in November, 27.9 here, 28.1 in January. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in December

December is at or near the longest days of Pietermaritzburg's year: 14 hours of daylight, holding steady all month. Evenings are the real gain — dinner outdoors still happens in full light.

An inland climate

Despite being inland, the year stays fairly even: 19.7 °C between the year's warmest afternoons and coldest nights.

How busy it gets

Off season. The genuine off season: cheapest by a distance, with the caveat that some tours and restaurants close entirely.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

December in Pietermaritzburg versus nearby

If Pietermaritzburg is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Durban is close enough to be a coin toss — 3.8 °C cooler, 7 days less rain. Johannesburg is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 5 days less rain.

So: December is a compromise. June is 34 points better and is what Pietermaritzburg is actually like at its best — worth moving the trip for if that is possible, and worth adjusting expectations for if it is not.

Every month in Pietermaritzburg

See all twelve months in Pietermaritzburg, or where else to go in December.