Temperature change in South Africa

South Africa: Temperature change was 1.05 °C in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
1.05 °C
Change on year
down 32.5%
Rank
36th
of 38 groups
All-time high
1.98 °C
in 2019
All-time low
-0.519 °C
in 1976
Years of data
65
1961–2025

Temperature change in South Africa, 1961–2025

-0.500.511.52196119932025

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in °C.

Analysis

The most recent figure for temperature change in South Africa is 1.05 °C, measured in 2025.

The figure is down 32.5% on the previous year and down 24.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, temperature change in South Africa peaked at 1.98 °C in 2019 and was at its lowest, -0.519 °C, in 1976.

South Africa ranks 36th of 38 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 0.0632 °C -0.393 °C 0.271 °C 9
1970s 0.0145 °C -0.519 °C 0.338 °C 10
1980s 0.3287 °C -0.355 °C 0.707 °C 10
1990s 0.5043 °C -0.158 °C 1.08 °C 10
2000s 0.7195 °C 0.248 °C 1.16 °C 10
2010s 1.15 °C 0.547 °C 1.98 °C 10
2020s 1.09 °C 0.867 °C 1.55 °C 6

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 34 OECD 2.18 °C compare
  2. 35 Austria 2.17 °C compare
  3. 36 Greenland 2.17 °C compare
  4. 37 Netherlands (Kingdom of the) 2.16 °C compare
  5. 38 Malta 2.16 °C compare
  6. 39 Albania 2.15 °C compare

See the full ranking of 288 places →

More environment data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is temperature change in South Africa?
Temperature change in South Africa was 1.05 °C in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest temperature change recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 1.98 °C in 2019.
What is the lowest temperature change recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was -0.519 °C in 1976.
How does South Africa rank for temperature change?
South Africa ranks 36th out of 38 groups with data for 2025.
Is temperature change rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 24.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Temperature change. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).

About this data

Indicator
Temperature change
Unit
°C
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
288 places, 16,949 data points, 1961–2025
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT Temperature change on land domain disseminates statistics of mean surface temperature change by country, with annual updates. Statistics are available for monthly, seasonal and annual mean temperature anomalies, i.e., temperature change with respect to a baseline climatology, corresponding to the period 1951–1980. The standard deviation of the temperature change of the baseline methodology is also available. Data are based on the publicly available GISTEMP data, the Global Surface Temperature Change data distributed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Institute for Space Studies (NASA-GISS).