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Coldest sea in Africa

748 coastal locations in Africa ranked by year-round average sea temperature, coldest first. The regional average is 24.4°C. The top of the list is where the water stays cold all year. The contrast list at the bottom shows the warmest coasts for context.

Coldest location

Marion Island

Year-round average 6.2°C in South Africa

Regional average

24.4°C

across all 748 Africa coastal locations

Coldest month

March

24.2°C region-wide average

Africa monthly average 24.2°C to 24.9°C
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  • Warmest month November 24.9°C
  • Coldest month March 24.2°C
  • Annual mean 24.4°C
  • Months above 20°C 12 of 12

Month by month across Africa

Sea temperatures in Africa swing from 24.2°C in March to 24.9°C in November on average across every coast we track. That spread of 1°C hides much bigger swings at individual locations.

Want a specific month? Pick one for a dedicated ranking:

Africa sea temperature map

Today's pin colours show the latest daily reading at every Africa location we track. Cool blues cluster around the high-latitude coasts.

Zoom in to see individual locations. Click a pin for water temperatures. View list →
°C -2 0 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 24 27 30 35

Top 50 coldest locations in Africa

Coastal locations across Africa sorted by year-round average, coldest first. Honest cold-water swimming country. Click any place for its 30-day chart, monthly profile, and 10-year history.

# Location Annual mean
1 Marion Island Western Cape 6.2°C
2 Luderitz 13.1°C
3 Port Nolloth 13.8°C
4 Sal 14.0°C
5 St Helena Bay 14.3°C
6 Velddrif 14.3°C
7 Hondeklip Bay 14.4°C
8 Elands Bay 14.5°C
9 Oranjemund Karas Region 14.5°C
10 Lamberts Bay Western Cape 14.5°C
11 Alexander Bay 14.6°C
12 Bloubergstrand 14.7°C
13 Camps Bay 14.7°C
14 Cape Town 14.7°C
15 Clifton 14.7°C
16 Sea Point 14.7°C
17 Sunset Beach 14.7°C
18 Langebaan 14.7°C
19 Buffels Bay Western Cape 14.8°C
20 Paternoster 14.8°C
21 Schrywers Hoek Western Cape 14.8°C
22 Schrywershoek Western Cape 14.8°C
23 Yzerfontein 14.9°C
24 Saldanha 15.1°C
25 Boulders Beach 15.2°C
Show 25 more ▸
26 Fish Hoek 15.2°C
27 Glencairn Beach 15.2°C
28 Hout Bay 15.2°C
29 Kalk Bay 15.2°C
30 Kommetjie 15.2°C
31 Melkbosstrand 15.2°C
32 Muizenberg 15.2°C
33 Noordhoek 15.2°C
34 Scarborough 15.2°C
35 Simon's Town 15.2°C
36 St James 15.2°C
37 Big Bay Western Cape 15.2°C
38 Robben Island Western Cape 15.2°C
39 Table Bay Western Cape 15.2°C
40 Walvis Bay 15.5°C
41 Skeleton Bay 15.8°C
42 Swakopmund 15.8°C
43 Henties Bay Erongo Region 16.1°C
44 Wlotzkasbaken Erongo Region 16.1°C
45 Terrace Bay Kunene Region 16.1°C
46 Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha 16.1°C
47 Mile 108 Erongo Region 16.1°C
48 Llandudno Western Cape 16.2°C
49 Cape Point 16.2°C
50 Torra Bay Kunene Region 16.2°C

Coldest countries in Africa

Country-level averages across every coastal location in each country (minimum 5 locations to be listed), coldest first.

# Country Annual mean
1 Namibia 15.6°C
2 South Africa 18.4°C
3 Morocco 19.2°C
4 Algeria 20.1°C
5 Tunisia 21.0°C
6 Libya 22.0°C
7 Angola 24.4°C
8 Egypt 24.6°C
9 Senegal 24.6°C
10 Cabo Verde 24.7°C
11 Gambia 25.3°C
12 Reunion 26.2°C
13 Mauritius 26.2°C
14 Mozambique 26.7°C
15 Ghana 27.3°C
16 Madagascar 27.4°C
17 Cote d'Ivoire 27.4°C
18 Kenya 27.5°C
19 Gabon 27.6°C
20 Somalia 27.6°C

Warmest 10 in Africa for contrast

Same data flipped. Useful if you want to know which Africa coasts stay warmest year-round before you commit to a cold-water swim trip.

# Location Annual mean
1 Mits'iwa Northern Red Sea 30.2°C
2 Massawa 30.1°C
3 Dahlac Archipelago 29.9°C
4 Bahir Dar 29.9°C
5 Lake Tana 29.9°C
6 Harmil Island Northern Red Sea 29.9°C
7 Ghoubbet El Kharâb Devil's Islands 29.7°C
8 Djibouti 29.6°C
9 Tadjoura 29.6°C
10 Abaya Lake 29.6°C

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