Seasons by city

The year in Johannesburg

Johannesburg stands high on the Witwatersrand, among the highest large cities in Africa, on open Highveld grassland that has been planted with millions of trees.

Biome Grassland
Rain Summer rain
Altitude about 1 750 m
Rainfall about 700 mm a year
Province Gauteng

Where the year begins

Summer brings almost all of the year's rain, often as violent afternoon storms with hail. The altitude makes winter nights cold, with frost on lawns most clear winter mornings, while the days are bright and dry.

Grassland covers the high central plateau: open, rolling veld with few trees, cold dry winters and green summers. Its wild flowers come up after the first rains and after the winter fires.

What summer rain means here

Most of the year's rain falls between October and March, often in afternoon thunderstorms, and winter is the dry season.

Keep outdoor lessons to the morning in summer, when storms are least likely, and treat the first big storm of spring as an event to mark together. Winter is the long, dry season for walks, fires and gathering seed.

The turning points of 2027

Dates are in South African time. Sunrise, sunset and daylight are worked out for Johannesburg's rounded location.

Solstices and equinoxes in 2027, with sunrise, sunset and daylight in Johannesburg
Turning point	Sunrise	Sunset	Daylight
Autumn equinoxSaturday 20 March 2027	06:11	18:19	12 h 8 min
Midwinter, the shortest dayMonday 21 June 2027	06:54	17:24	10 h 30 min
Spring equinoxThursday 23 September 2027	05:56	18:04	12 h 8 min
Midsummer, the longest dayWednesday 22 December 2027	05:12	18:59	13 h 47 min

Summer: December, January, February

Storms build fast over the Highveld on summer afternoons, often with hail. Keep outdoor time to the morning, and come in at the first rumble of thunder. After a storm, look for the flying ants that rise from the lawns.

First signs to watch for

Christmas beetles singing
Streams running full
Longest day
Widowbirds displaying
Afternoon storm
Termites flying after rain

Red bishops puffed up like little red balls in reed beds near water

In the evening sky

On 22 December 2027, midsummer, the longest day, at about 20:14: the moon is waning crescent, 25 percent lit, not yet up, and the Southern Cross is below the horizon or too low to see. Planets: Saturn, high in the north-west; Venus, low in the west. For early risers: Jupiter before dawn in the north-east.

Also up: The Small Magellanic Cloud, halfway up in the south; Grus, the Crane, halfway up in the south-west; The Large Magellanic Cloud, halfway up in the south.

On the nature table

Rich green cotton with a strip of dark grey silk at the back for the storm clouds, with long grass seed heads from a field edge or your own garden; fallen feathers; a smooth stone or two; a small potted plant, such as a red-hot poker or an agapanthus.

Safety this season

On midsummer's day the sun is highest at 12:06, 87 degrees above the horizon, so a child's shadow almost disappears at noon; keep the hours around it for shade, hats, sunscreen and water.
Snakes are about in the warm months: stay on paths, look where you step, and leave any snake alone.
Ticks are in the long grass now: check arms, legs and hair afterwards.

Festivals

Midsummer Festival on Wednesday 22 December 2027; Christmas on Saturday 25 December 2027 (Christian).

Three things to do outside

Washing the Stoep

Water, 40 minutes

On a hot day, scrubbing the stoep together with buckets, brushes and a little soap, splashing as you go and leaving everything clean and cool.

Water: an adult stays within arm's reach of every child near water, the whole time.
A small child can topple head first into a bucket. Keep only a little water in each, stay within arm's reach, and tip the buckets out as soon as you finish.

Dawn Bird Calls

Nature walk, 40 minutes

Getting up just before sunrise to walk quietly and listen to the birds waking, learning one or two calls by ear and ending with a warm drink as the sun comes up.

Walk on pavements and garden paths you know well, as the light is low. Hold small hands near any road or driveway.

Mud and Clay Kitchen

Building, 30 minutes

Digging, mixing and shaping mud and clay outside: pots, pies, bricks and snakes.

Water: an adult stays within arm's reach of every child near water, the whole time.
Keep only a small amount of water in the bucket and empty it at the end. Even shallow water needs an adult nearby.

Autumn: March, April, May

Cosmos flowers in pink and white on verges and open ground in March and April, and the grassland turns from green to gold. It is a fine season for long walks before the cold.

First signs to watch for

Cosmos in flower
Swallows gathering
Last storm of summer
Swallows gone
First frost
Leaves turning yellow

The sky quieter as the swallows leave

In the evening sky

On 20 March 2027, autumn equinox, at about 19:34: the moon is waxing gibbous, 96 percent lit, halfway up in the north-east, and the Southern Cross is halfway up in the south-east. Planets: Jupiter, halfway up in the north-east; Mars, halfway up in the north-east. For early risers: Mercury before dawn in the east; Venus before dawn in the east.

Also up: Canis Major and Sirius, almost overhead in the north-west; Carina and Canopus, high in the south; Orion, high in the north-west.

On the nature table

Rusty red-brown cotton with a scatter of pink and white felt cosmos flowers, with dry red grass seed heads; fallen yellow leaves from a garden or street tree; dry cosmos seed heads from your own garden; seed pods and fallen twigs.

Safety this season

At the autumn equinox the midday sun, at 12:15, still stands 64 degrees high and burns quickly, so hats stay on and the late afternoon becomes the pleasant time to be out.
Snakes are about in the warm months: stay on paths, look where you step, and leave any snake alone.
Ticks are in the long grass now: check arms, legs and hair afterwards.

Festivals

Autumn Harvest Festival on Saturday 20 March 2027; Easter on Sunday 28 March 2027 (Christian); Freedom Day Family Stories on Tuesday 27 April 2027.

Three things to do outside

A Stick and Grass Hut

Building, 120 minutes

Over two or three autumn afternoons your child builds a small hut from long sticks and bundles of dry grass, layering the grass from the bottom up so that it sheds the rain.

Snakes rest in long grass, even as the weather cools. The adult cuts the grass, wearing boots and long trousers, and makes plenty of noise while working. Check everyone for ticks when you finish.

Finding the Southern Cross

Sky watching, 30 minutes

On a clear autumn evening, finding the two bright Pointers and following them to the Southern Cross, then using the Cross to find south.

Go out soon after dark so that younger children are in bed at their usual time. By April and May the Cross is already well up in the south east early in the evening.

Sweeping the Yard

Practical life, 30 minutes

In the cool of an autumn or winter morning your child sweeps fallen leaves with a small grass broom, carries them to the compost heap and looks at the patterns the broom leaves in the earth.

Sweep in shoes. Devil thorns and other small thorny burrs hide in dry leaves and bare earth, especially in the dry months.

Winter: June, July, August

Frost silvers the lawns at dawn and the grass is dry and pale. Fires burn the veld in places, leaving black ground that turns green with new grass in spring. The clear, cold evenings are good for the stars, away from street lights.

First signs to watch for

Ice on the birdbath
Snow on the Drakensberg
Green shoots in the burnt veld
Coldest morning
Blossom on the fruit trees
August wind

White-eyes, mousebirds and sparrows busy at garden feeders

In the evening sky

On 21 June 2027, midwinter, the shortest day, at about 19:00: the moon is waning gibbous, 94 percent lit, not yet up, and the Southern Cross is high in the south. Planets: Mars, high in the north-west; Jupiter, halfway up in the north-west. For early risers: Saturn before dawn in the north-east.

Also up: Centaurus and the Pointers, high in the south; Leo, the Lion, halfway up in the north-west; Scorpius, halfway up in the east.

On the nature table

Pale straw-coloured cotton with a strip of white felt for frost and blue silk for the sky, with dry pale grass stems; fallen bark or a few pine cones; pale stones from your own garden; a small potted aloe.

Safety this season

On the shortest day the sun reaches only 40 degrees, at 12:09, and midday shadows are long, but it still burns; cold mornings mean water play waits for a warmer day.

Festivals

Midwinter Lantern Evening on Monday 21 June 2027; Women's Day on Monday 9 August 2027.

Three things to do outside

Lichen Colours on the Koppie

Nature walk, 75 minutes

A morning walk up a small koppie to find the crusts of lichen on the rocks, name their colours and draw a few of them in block crayon at the top.

Snakes and scorpions shelter in rock cracks. Your child looks with the eyes and never puts a hand into a crack or under a rock they cannot see behind.

Washing Line Day

Practical life, 40 minutes

On a breezy morning your child helps peg the washing on the line, watches it flap dry in the wind and then takes it in and folds it, matching socks into pairs.

A rotary washing line can swing round and pinch fingers. Little ones use the low string line, and nobody hangs or swings on the arms of a rotary line.

Midday Shadow Tag

Game, 20 minutes

A running game for a cold, bright winter day. Around midday, when the low winter sun still casts long shadows, the catcher tries to step on the other players' shadows.

The winter sun is low but can still burn at midday, especially at altitude. Wear hats, and put sunscreen on faces if you play for long.

Spring: September, October, November

Jacarandas flower in October in the older suburbs, and the burnt veld greens with new shoots. The first storms of the season usually arrive in October or November; it is worth marking the date on the nature table.

First signs to watch for

Weavers building
First wild flowers
First summer thunderstorm
Jacaranda in bloom
Swallows back
Fireflies

The first summer thunderstorm, and the smell of rain on dry earth

In the evening sky

On 23 September 2027, spring equinox, at about 19:19: the moon is last quarter, 47 percent lit, not yet up, and the Southern Cross is low in the south-west. Planets: Mars, halfway up in the west. For early risers: Saturn before dawn in the north-west.

Also up: Sagittarius and the Teapot, almost overhead in the south-west; Scorpius, high in the west; Pavo, the Peacock, high in the south.

On the nature table

Charcoal grey cotton at the back with fresh green silk spreading forward, like new grass after the veld is burnt, with a small piece of charcoal from your own cold fireplace or braai; fallen blossom petals from a peach or plum tree; grass and twigs for a weaver's nest; a small potted plant in flower, such as a wild gerbera.

Safety this season

By the spring equinox the midday sun is back up at 64 degrees, at 12:00, and UV climbs quickly towards October, so bring the hats out before the heat arrives.
Bees are busy with the spring flowers: walk calmly past hives and flowering trees.

Festivals

Spring Festival of Blossoms on Thursday 23 September 2027; Heritage Day on Friday 24 September 2027; First Rains Festival on Monday 25 October 2027; Diwali on Monday 1 November 2027 (Hindu), a date that moves; check locally.

Three things to do outside

The Friday Nature Walk

Nature walk, 45 minutes

A slow weekly walk with a basket, the same route each week, gathering small finds for the nature table.

Take water, hats and sunscreen. Walk in the morning before the heat of the day.

The Swallow Skipping Rhyme

Game, 30 minutes

When the swallows return in spring, two people turn a long rope while the others jump in to an original rhyme, counting their jumps in rhythm until they run out.

A rope is for jumping only. Nobody winds it around their neck or ties anyone up with it, and it goes back into its basket after the game.

Shelling on the Stoep

Practical life, 30 minutes

Sitting together in the shade of the stoep, your child pops green peas out of their pods in spring or rubs dry kernels off mealie cobs in autumn, counting as they go.

Dry mealie kernels are small and hard. Keep them out of the reach of babies and toddlers, who can choke on them.

Places to walk

Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden

A waterfall, ridges of indigenous bush and a pair of Verreaux's eagles that have nested on the cliffs for many years.

Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve

Rocky Highveld hills in the south of the city, with grassland flowers in summer and the ruins of old stone walls.

Delta Park

Dams, open lawns and wetland in the northern suburbs, with birds to watch at the water's edge.

Where these facts come from

Biome, rainfall regime, solstices, equinoxes, sunrise, sunset, the midday sun and the evening sky are computed by Selemo's season engine for Johannesburg at 26.20 degrees south, 28.05 degrees east, rounded to about 5 km, using Meeus's astronomical algorithms and the NOAA solar equations.
Biome names follow the national vegetation map of South Africa (Mucina and Rutherford); first signs, the nature table and festivals come from Selemo's seasons library, version 1; activities come from Selemo's activity library, chosen by the Outdoor Matcher for a typical clear morning in each season after the safety rules; altitude and rainfall are rounded long-term figures, being checked against South African Weather Service climate data.

Registering for home education in Gauteng

Your year in Johannesburg

Selemo works all this out for your own home in Johannesburg and shapes your week around it.

Start the 14-day trial All seasons and festivals

No card needed for the trial. Seedling Free stays free.