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Cape Town Sea Temperature in December

South Africa

November Cape Town year-round → January

Average sea temperature for Cape Town, South Africa across December, based on 10 years of daily readings.

Average

15.29° C

High

22.75° C

Low

10.7° C

At this temperature, water will feel cold compared to a swimming pool, but with a bit of experience and practice most people will find the water relatively comfortable to swim in.

December is the 3rd warmest of 12 months at Cape Town. On average the water sits 0.6° than the year-round mean of 14.68° C.

Compared to November, December is 0.4° warmer than (14.88° C in November). By January the water is usually 15.48° C.

Cape Town Day-by-Day Water Temperature in December

10-year low, average and high

8.5° C
12.6° C
16.8° C
20.9° C
25.0° C
1
5
10
15
20
25
31
Day-by-day low and high band with the 10-year daily average through December. Range Average

Each vertical bar above is one day of December. The shaded band covers the range the water has reached on that day across the last 10 years — the lowest reading at the bottom, the highest at the top. The line running through the bars is the daily average over those 10 years, so you can see the typical shape of the month at Cape Town.

A narrow band means the temperature on that day has stayed close to the average year on year. A taller band means it has swung more, often because of changeable weather around that time of year. Hovering a day pulls up its low, average, and high.

December Water Temperature Table for Cape Town

10-year daily averages

Day Average Low High
December 1 14.66° C 10.89° C 17.47° C
December 2 14.82° C 11.85° C 19.08° C
December 3 15.06° C 13.01° C 19.18° C
December 4 15.11° C 13.11° C 19.97° C
December 5 15.2° C 13.23° C 20.78° C
December 6 15.17° C 12.61° C 19.1° C
December 7 15.27° C 12° C 18.06° C
December 8 15.05° C 11.95° C 18.77° C
December 9 14.98° C 12.16° C 18.71° C
December 10 15.16° C 12.2° C 18.99° C
December 11 15.4° C 12.58° C 18.79° C
December 12 15.35° C 12.81° C 19.13° C
December 13 15.33° C 12.58° C 19.94° C
December 14 15.09° C 12.02° C 19.14° C
December 15 15.1° C 12.02° C 18.67° C
December 16 15.16° C 12.22° C 19.73° C
December 17 15.42° C 11.66° C 22° C
December 18 15.38° C 10.7° C 22.75° C
December 19 15.31° C 11.15° C 22.03° C
December 20 15.31° C 12.55° C 20.78° C
December 21 15.24° C 12.18° C 20.12° C
December 22 15.46° C 11.49° C 20.76° C
December 23 15.43° C 11.14° C 21.38° C
December 24 15.37° C 11.27° C 21.28° C
December 25 15.23° C 12.44° C 20.27° C
December 26 15.39° C 12.17° C 21.54° C
December 27 15.53° C 12.08° C 22.45° C
December 28 15.54° C 11.76° C 21.88° C
December 29 15.65° C 11.91° C 20.64° C
December 30 15.71° C 11.34° C 19.86° C
December 31 15.96° C 12.54° C 19.49° C

Where December Sits in the Year

December highlighted

9.0° C
12.9° C
16.8° C
20.6° C
24.5° C
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
15.48° C
15.63° C
15.05° C
13.79° C
13.98° C
14.4° C
14.51° C
14.2° C
14.27° C
14.73° C
14.88° C
15.29° C
10-year monthly history for Cape Town. Bars span historical low to high; the line marks the monthly average. Range Average
January → February → March → April → May → June → July → August → September → October → November → December →

Nearby Locations in December

Compare other South Africa water for the same month

Cape Town Location

-33.9249, 18.4241

-33.92487, 18.42406 View on OpenStreetMap →

Cape Town sits at -33.9249°N, 18.4241°E, on the coast of South Africa. The marker on the map shows the spot the readings on this page come from. It usually sits a short distance from the town centre, out on the open water itself, so the numbers stay tied to the coast rather than a generic point inland.

Coastlines bend, headlands focus the water, and the temperature can run noticeably differently between two beaches that look close together on a map. Comparing nearby locations is a quick way to see how local geography is shaping the readings.

Nearest locations to Cape Town