Mild in May
21°C average high
avg high · 13° at night
25°C+ on 1 in 10 days
South Africa
Cape Town weather in May
Is it warm? Not really. May in Cape Town is cool: afternoons average 19°C and nights 12°C. Most days (80%) peak between 16°C and 24°C.
Cool · average high
19°C
25°C or more on about one in ten days; 20°C or more on about three in ten days.
- Average low12°overnight
- Sea14°average, 2023–2025
- Rainy days560 mm in the month
- SkyOften cloudy52% cloud · 26% clear days
How warm it really gets
Every May afternoon from 2011–2025: 465 days. Most (80%) peaked between 16° and 24°.
May, year by year
The average May high in each year. The warmest, 2017, averaged 21°C; the coolest, 2023, 18°C.
Compared with home
Average May highs. Expect rain on about 5 days (60 mm in a typical month).
- Cape Town19°
- London17°
- Manchester16°
- Cork15°
- Dublin15°
- Glasgow15°
- Belfast14°
Warmer in May, not much further
Flying times are estimates from Dublin; Cape Town is about 12h 45m.
Warm in May
24°C average high
avg high · 15° at night
25°C+ on 4 in 10 days
Mild in May
23°C average high
avg high · 16° at night
25°C+ on 2 in 10 days
Air: ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2011–2025. Sea: Copernicus Marine analysis via Open-Meteo, 2023–2025. Rainy day = 2 mm or more. Clear day = average cloud cover of 30% or less. These are averages of past weather, not a forecast. Methodology