Cooling Degree Days in South Africa
South Africa: Cooling Degree Days was 1,810 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Cooling Degree Days in South Africa, 1960–2024
Source: World Bank, Climate Change Knowledge Portal. https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org.
Analysis
The most recent figure for cooling degree days in South Africa is 1,810, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 65 years on record.
The figure is up 15.7% on the previous year and up 29.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cooling degree days in South Africa peaked at 1,810 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 932.89, in 1976.
South Africa ranks 128th of 193 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.
Cooling Degree Days in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1,238 | — |
| 1961 | 1,176 | -5.0% |
| 1962 | 1,284 | +9.1% |
| 1963 | 1,195 | -6.9% |
| 1964 | 1,264 | +5.8% |
| 1965 | 1,268 | +0.3% |
| 1966 | 1,311 | +3.4% |
| 1967 | 1,173 | -10.5% |
| 1968 | 1,129 | -3.8% |
| 1969 | 1,288 | +14.1% |
| 1970 | 1,381 | +7.2% |
| 1971 | 1,135 | -17.8% |
| 1972 | 1,298 | +14.4% |
| 1973 | 1,217 | -6.3% |
| 1974 | 1,032 | -15.2% |
| 1975 | 969.41 | -6.1% |
| 1976 | 932.89 | -3.8% |
| 1977 | 1,231 | +31.9% |
| 1978 | 1,189 | -3.4% |
| 1979 | 1,295 | +8.9% |
| 1980 | 1,250 | -3.5% |
| 1981 | 1,122 | -10.3% |
| 1982 | 1,320 | +17.7% |
| 1983 | 1,525 | +15.5% |
| 1984 | 1,460 | -4.2% |
| 1985 | 1,380 | -5.5% |
| 1986 | 1,327 | -3.9% |
| 1987 | 1,466 | +10.5% |
| 1988 | 1,268 | -13.5% |
| 1989 | 1,167 | -8.0% |
| 1990 | 1,333 | +14.3% |
| 1991 | 1,271 | -4.7% |
| 1992 | 1,556 | +22.4% |
| 1993 | 1,417 | -8.9% |
| 1994 | 1,299 | -8.3% |
| 1995 | 1,321 | +1.7% |
| 1996 | 1,127 | -14.6% |
| 1997 | 1,229 | +9.0% |
| 1998 | 1,347 | +9.7% |
| 1999 | 1,547 | +14.8% |
| 2000 | 1,127 | -27.1% |
| 2001 | 1,275 | +13.1% |
| 2002 | 1,416 | +11.1% |
| 2003 | 1,623 | +14.6% |
| 2004 | 1,483 | -8.6% |
| 2005 | 1,436 | -3.2% |
| 2006 | 1,309 | -8.9% |
| 2007 | 1,435 | +9.7% |
| 2008 | 1,417 | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 1,349 | -4.8% |
| 2010 | 1,470 | +9.0% |
| 2011 | 1,292 | -12.1% |
| 2012 | 1,432 | +10.9% |
| 2013 | 1,431 | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 1,395 | -2.5% |
| 2015 | 1,766 | +26.5% |
| 2016 | 1,790 | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 1,453 | -18.8% |
| 2018 | 1,621 | +11.5% |
| 2019 | 1,759 | +8.5% |
| 2020 | 1,542 | -12.3% |
| 2021 | 1,289 | -16.4% |
| 2022 | 1,412 | +9.6% |
| 2023 | 1,565 | +10.8% |
| 2024 | 1,810 | +15.7% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 1,810 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 4,490, 40% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 1,810 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 5,117, 35% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1,233 | 1,129 | 1,311 | 10 |
| 1970s | 1,168 | 932.89 | 1,381 | 10 |
| 1980s | 1,328 | 1,122 | 1,525 | 10 |
| 1990s | 1,345 | 1,127 | 1,556 | 10 |
| 2000s | 1,387 | 1,127 | 1,623 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1,541 | 1,292 | 1,790 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1,524 | 1,289 | 1,810 | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More environment data for South Africa
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 5.46 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 8.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.275 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.05 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.59 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 0.2953 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cooling degree days in South Africa?
- Cooling degree days in South Africa was 1,810 in 2024, according to World Bank, Climate Change Knowledge Portal. https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org.
- What is the highest cooling degree days recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1,810 in 2024.
- What is the lowest cooling degree days recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 932.89 in 1976.
- How does South Africa rank for cooling degree days?
- South Africa ranks 128th out of 193 countries with data for 2024.
- Is cooling degree days rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 29.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank, Climate Change Knowledge Portal. https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org, published as part of Cooling Degree Days. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
A cooling degree day (CDD) is a measurement designed to track energy use. It is the number of degrees that a day's average temperature is above 18°C (65°F). Daily degree days are accumulated to obtain annual values.