Western Cape Climate

Climate of the Western Cape brought to you by Conference Venues South Africa including Western Cape's rainfall, micro- and macroclimates and temperatures.

The Western Cape has a varied climate, with several different micro- and macroclimates created by the influence of both the Indian and Atlantic oceans and varied topography. Most of the Western Cape is considered to have a Mediterranean climate with cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers. The interior Karoo has a semiarid climate with cold, icy winters and hot summers with isolated thunderstorms. The Overberg and the Garden Route on the south coast have a maritime climate with cool, wet winters and warm, moist summers. Mossel Bay in the Garden Route is considered to have the second mildest weather worldwide after Hawaii.

Thunderstorms are generally limited in the province, apart from the Karoo interior, with most rainfall being of an orographic or frontal nature. Extremes of cold and heat are common inland, but rarer near the coast, with snow being a common winter occurrence on the higher lying land. Frost is rare in coastal areas and many of the heavily cultivated valleys.

The Prince Edward Islands islands experience year-round cold to cool temperatures with high precipitation and little annual variation on both accounts.