Paarl, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, experiences distinct seasonal variations in its weather patterns. The summers are hot, dry, and mostly clear, while the winters are long, cold, wet, and partly cloudy. This article provides a detailed overview of the weather conditions in Paarl throughout the year, including temperature variations, rainfall patterns, wind conditions, and the best times to visit for various activities.
Paarl is located at geographical coordinates -33.734 deg latitude, 18.975 deg longitude, and 351 ft elevation. The topography within 2 miles of Paarl contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,539 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 528 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (5,299 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (7,415 feet). The area within 2 miles of Paarl is covered by artificial surfaces (52%) and cropland (43%), within 10 miles by cropland (68%) and shrubs (24%), and within 50 miles by cropland (43%) and shrubs (29%).
Temperature
The average hourly temperature in Paarl is depicted in the figure below, showcasing a compact characterization of the entire year. The horizontal axis represents the day of the year, the vertical axis represents the hour of the day, and the color indicates the average temperature for that hour and day. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.
The hot season lasts for 3.6 months, from December 7 to March 25, with an average daily high temperature above 82°F. The hottest month of the year in Paarl is January, with an average high of 86°F and a low of 61°F. In contrast, the cool season lasts for 3.6 months, from May 26 to September 14, with an average daily high temperature below 68°F. The coldest month of the year in Paarl is July, with an average low of 42°F and a high of 64°F.
For those curious about similar climates, Murrieta, California, United States (9,947 miles away); Florida, Uruguay (4,208 miles); and Gloucester, New South Wales, Australia (6,969 miles) are the far-away foreign places with temperatures most similar to Paarl (view comparison).
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Cloud Cover
In Paarl, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.
The clearer part of the year in Paarl begins around November 23 and lasts for 4.3 months, ending around April 1. The clearest month of the year is February, during which the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 88% of the time on average. Conversely, the cloudier part of the year begins around April 1 and lasts for 7.7 months, ending around November 23. The cloudiest month of the year is May, during which the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 42% of the time on average.
Precipitation
Rain falls throughout the year in Paarl. A wet day is defined as one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Paarl varies throughout the year.
The wetter season lasts 5.5 months, from April 17 to October 2, with a greater than 17% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days is July, with an average of 8.4 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation. The drier season lasts 6.5 months, from October 2 to April 17. The month with the fewest wet days is February, with an average of 1.9 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.
The month with the most rain in Paarl is June, with an average rainfall of 3.5 inches. The month with the least rain in Paarl is February, with an average rainfall of 0.6 inches.
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Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 28% on June 15. The month with the most days of rain alone in Paarl is July, with an average of 8.4 days.
Here's a table summarizing the average rainfall and wet days in Paarl:
| Month | Average Rainfall (inches) | Average Wet Days (≥ 0.04 inches) |
|---|---|---|
| February | 0.6 | 1.9 |
| June | 3.5 | N/A |
| July | N/A | 8.4 |
Daylight
The length of the day in Paarl varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2025, the shortest day is June 21, with 9 hours, 55 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 14 hours, 24 minutes of daylight.
The earliest sunrise is at 5:26 AM on December 5, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 23 minutes later at 7:49 AM on June 30. The earliest sunset is at 5:42 PM on June 12, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 16 minutes later at 7:58 PM on January 6. Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Paarl during 2025.
The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation.
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The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2025. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.
Humidity
The perceived humidity level in Paarl, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, staying within 1% of 1% throughout.
Wind
The average hourly wind speed in Paarl experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year. The windier part of the year lasts for 5.0 months, from October 15 to March 15, with average wind speeds of more than 9.4 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 10.6 miles per hour. The calmer time of year lasts for 7.0 months, from March 15 to October 15. The calmest month of the year is May, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.3 miles per hour.
The predominant average hourly wind direction in Paarl varies throughout the year. The wind is most often from the north for 3.5 months, from May 3 to August 17, with a peak percentage of 40% on June 27. The wind is most often from the west for 1.4 months, from August 17 to September 29, with a peak percentage of 32% on September 5. The wind is most often from the south for 6.2 months, from September 29 to April 5, with a peak percentage of 46% on January 1.
The percentage of hours in which the mean wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions, excluding hours in which the mean wind speed is less than 1.0 mph. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries are the percentage of hours spent in the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).
Water Temperature
Paarl is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.
The time of year with warmer water lasts for 2.5 months, from December 24 to March 7, with an average temperature above 64°F. The month with the warmest water is February, with an average temperature of 65°F. The time of year with cooler water lasts for 4.7 months, from June 2 to October 25, with an average temperature below 60°F. The month with the coolest water is August, with an average temperature of 58°F.
Tourism and Recreation
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Paarl throughout the year, two travel scores are computed. The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Paarl for general outdoor tourist activities is from early November to mid April, with a peak score in the second week of February.
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Paarl for hot-weather activities is from late December to early March, with a peak score in the last week of January.
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For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.
Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies. Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.
Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter. Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.
Growing Season
Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, it is defined as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).
The growing season in Paarl typically lasts for 11 months (341 days), from around July 24 to around July 1, rarely starting after August 29, or ending before May 30. Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Paarl should appear around July 21, only rarely appearing before July 15 or after July 27.
Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F is used.
Solar Energy
This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.
The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year. The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from November 8 to February 20, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.6 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Paarl is December, with an average of 8.7 kWh. The darker period of the year lasts for 3.7 months, from April 30 to August 19, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.8 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Paarl is June, with an average of 2.6 kWh.
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