Our Climate Databank
The South African Weather Service collates, maintains and runs a quality control process of South Africa’s meteorological and climatological data and related information. This archived data consists of:
1. Daily rainfall values since 1836
2. Daily surface observations for all stations, but for selected stations since 1884
3. Hourly data of wind direction, wind speed, temperature, humidity, pressure and sunshine from 1950 onwards
4. Upper-air sounding data since 1961
5. Marine data from 1975 onwards
6. Forecasting data since 1990, satellite data since 1992 and radar data since 1994
Please access this Google Earth file to view the stations nearest where you want the information and their available data.
To order data or reports, send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone 082 233 8484
Drought Monitoring Desk
Here you will find information from our drought monitoring desk, so click here if you are looking for current drought indicators, predictors and rainfall information.
Our Scientific Publications
To view our publications list and to order publications click here.
The South African Weather Service publishes two monthly scientific publications, the Daily Weather Bulletin and the Climate Summary of South Africa, containing near real-time data. A number of other scientific publications is also available to the public providing key information on the climate of South Africa.
Data use policy
The information acquired through this website has commercial value which vests in the South African Weather Service. Accordingly, any information accessed here is not for resale and in the event of a specific purchase is for the use of the purchaser only and shall not be made available for resale in any manner. All transactions are subject to the South African Weather Service data policy which is available for download SAWS Data Policy.
All data that is stored on the climate database at the South African Weather Service can be accessed by clients. If the data is to be used for commercial purposes, then the provision of this data will carry additional fees.