What's on in Johannesburg (Joburg), South Africa through the year

Peak crowds — The city empties, Term 4–1 (summer, year-end) break in South Africa

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Highveld afternoon storms (15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually)), The city empties (15 Dec – 5 Jan (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Highveld afternoon storms (15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually))

Busy — Term 1–2 (autumn) break in South Africa, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Highveld afternoon storms (15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually))

Busy — Term 1–2 (autumn) break in South Africa, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in April.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  Highveld winter

  1 May – 31 Aug · usuallyDry season

  Four months without meaningful rain, cold at dawn and shirt-sleeves by eleven, under a sky that stays open all day. It is the least dramatic and most usable weather the city has.

Busy — Term 2–3 (winter) break in South Africa, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Winter haze over the Highveld

  1 Jun – 31 Aug · usuallyWinter smog

  Cold air traps smoke from veld fires, coal stoves and the industrial East Rand under an inversion, and the horizon goes brown for weeks. Worst at dawn and after dark, and it clears when the first storms arrive. Source ↗

Still on: Highveld winter (1 May – 31 Aug (usually))

Busy — Term 2–3 (winter) break in South Africa, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Highveld winter (1 May – 31 Aug (usually)), Winter haze over the Highveld (1 Jun – 31 Aug (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Highveld winter (1 May – 31 Aug (usually)), Winter haze over the Highveld (1 Jun – 31 Aug (usually))

Busy — Term 3–4 (spring) break in South Africa

• Festival

  Standard Bank Joy of Jazz

  25–26 SepMajor festivalBook early

  Two nights across several stages at the Sandton convention centre in late September, with a line-up that mixes South African players and touring names. Sandton hotels price accordingly. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Johannesburg Pride, Term 3–4 (spring) break in South Africa

• Nature

  Jacarandas in the northern suburbs

  1 Oct – 10 Nov · usually

  Houghton, Killarney and the ridge roads go lilac for a few weeks from the start of October. Pretoria does it on a bigger scale and reminds Johannesburg of that every spring.

• Hazard

  Highveld afternoon storms

  15 Oct – 15 Mar · usuallyStorm season

  Storms build over the reef most summer afternoons: hail, lightning and intersections under water for an hour. They pass fast, but they own the four-to-six slot and they flood the same low bridges every year. Source ↗

• Festival

  Johannesburg Pride

  31 OctCrowded

  Africa's oldest pride march, now a Saturday parade and party in Sandton at the end of October. Roads around the route close for most of the day. Source ↗

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Jacarandas in the northern suburbs (1 Oct – 10 Nov (usually)), Highveld afternoon storms (15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually)), Johannesburg Pride (31 Oct)

Peak crowds — The city empties, Term 4–1 (summer, year-end) break in South Africa

• Holiday

  The city empties

  15 Dec – 5 Jan · usuallyChristmas & New YearClosures

  Johannesburg is one of the few big cities that clears out for the holidays: half of it drives to the coast, the traffic disappears, and a lot of restaurants and workshops shut for three weeks. Source ↗

Still on: Highveld afternoon storms (15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually))