Beach forecast for East London
Today, Thursday, October 29, 2026 · local time (GMT+2) · Eastern Cape, South Africa Today, Thu, Oct 29 · GMT+2- Swimming
- Use care · 4.8 ft
- Water
- 67 °F · cool
- Max UV
- 11 · SPF 50
- Low tide
- 11:17 am and 11:49 pm
Today, Thursday, October 29, it's a poor beach day in East London (4/10). The best hours are from 8:00 am to 10:00 am: sunshine, pleasant temperatures and little wind, though with some waves. The best day this week is Saturday, October 31, at 4/10.
Beach forecast for the next 7 days
| Day | Rating | Best hours | Swimming | Water | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 4Poor beach day | 8:00–10:00 am | Use care · 4.8 ft | 67 °F | 11 |
| Fri 30 | 3Poor beach day | No good window | Dangerous · 7.3 ft | 66 °F | 11 |
| Sat 31 | 4Poor beach day | 12:00–5:00 pm | Use care · 5.8 ft | 66 °F | 9 |
| Sun 1 | 1Not a beach day | No good window | Use care · 5.2 ft | 66 °F | 4 |
| Mon 2 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Use care · 5.6 ft | 66 °F | — |
| Tue 3 | 2Not a beach day | No good window | Use care · 4.3 ft | 67 °F | — |
| Wed 4 | 3Poor beach day | No good window | Use care · 4.6 ft | 67 °F | — |
Each rating comes from sun, temperature, rain, wind, waves, UV, water temperature and, where there is one, the tide.
Today in detail
- Sunny
- Feels like 75 °F: pleasant
- Onshore breeze (8 mph)
- UV 6 (moderate): SPF 30 sunscreen
- Water at 67 °F (cool)
- Swim with care: 4.8 ft waves every 10 s; high rip current risk
Dangerous surf during beach hours. Stay out if the red flag is up, and never swim where there is no lifeguard.
Today, hour by hour
- Swimming Use care · 4.8 ft
4.8 ft waves every 10 s: swim with care and stay where you can stand. High rip current risk. If you're caught in a rip current, don't swim against it: swim parallel to shore and wave for help. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
- Water 67 °F
Cool: refreshing on a hot day.
- Sun & sunscreen UV 11 · SPF 50
Max UV 11 (extreme): SPF 50 sunscreen, reapplied every 2 hours. Seek shade 11:00 am–2:00 pm (very high UV).
- Wind 14 mph
Moderate onshore wind (14 mph).
- Tide & sand 11:17 am
Low tide at 11:17 am and 11:49 pm: that's when there's the most sand. High tide at 5:18 am and 5:38 pm. Coefficient 92 (spring tides): little sand left at high tide.
The best window, 8:00 am to 10:00 am, brings sunshine, pleasant temperatures and little wind, though with some waves.
We don't have data on jellyfish, sargassum or beach closures: ask the lifeguard or check with the local beach authority.
Today, hour by hour
| Time | Rating | Sky | Feels like | Wind | Waves | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6:00 am | 0 | Clear sky | 64 °F | 7 mph | 4.6 ft | 0 |
| 7:00 am | 3 | Clear sky | 68 °F | 7 mph | 4.6 ft | 1 |
| 8:00 am | 4 | Clear sky | 72 °F | 7 mph | 4.7 ft | 3 |
| 9:00 am | 6 | Clear sky | 75 °F | 8 mph | 4.8 ft | 6 |
| 10:00 am | 3 | Mainly clear | 79 °F | 10 mph | 5.0 ft | 8 |
| 11:00 am | 3 | Mainly clear | 82 °F | 11 mph | 5.1 ft | 9 |
| 12:00 pm | 2 | Mainly clear | 82 °F | 12 mph | 5.4 ft | 11 |
| 1:00 pm | 1 | Mainly clear | 82 °F | 13 mph | 5.6 ft | 10 |
| 2:00 pm | 3 | Mainly clear | 80 °F | 13 mph | 5.9 ft | 7 |
| 3:00 pm | 2 | Mainly clear | 78 °F | 13 mph | 6.2 ft | 5 |
| 4:00 pm | 2 | Clear sky | 75 °F | 14 mph | 6.4 ft | 2 |
| 5:00 pm | 0 | Clear sky | 73 °F | 13 mph | 6.6 ft | 1 |
Beach hours only: from one hour after sunrise to half an hour before sunset.
Beaches near East London
Map: OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles · © OpenStreetMap contributors
- Orient Beach 0.7 mi · S
- Parking
- Paradise Naturist Beach 2.3 mi · NE
- Nudity allowed
Named beaches within 6.2 mi, nearest first. Amenities from OpenStreetMap: some may be missing or out of date. View on OpenStreetMap · Add or fix on OpenStreetMap
Beaches and amenities: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Webcams near East London
Webcams provided by windy.com — add a webcam
How we rate a beach day
We rate every beach hour from 0 to 10 with simple, fixed rules:
- Adds: sunshine (up to 3 points, fewer with more clouds), warmth (up to 4, from the feels-like temperature; ideal between 81 °F and 91 °F), a calm sea (1), water at 70 °F or warmer (1; from 64 °F, half) and low or mid tide (1: more sand). Anything without data is left out and the rest is scaled to 10.
- Takes away: cold (feels-like below 64 °F, 1 to 4 points), rain (half a point if likely, up to 6 if it rains; thunderstorms, 8), wind from force 4, about 12 mph (1 to 6 points; half a point more if offshore, which blows inflatables out to sea, or onshore, which churns the water), waves (1 to swim with care, 4 if dangerous, 1 more for high rip current risk), very high UV (half a point; extreme, 1), water below 59 °F (1) and spring high tides (1: little sand left).
- Swimming: calm, use care (waves from 2.6 ft, or long swell) or dangerous (from 6.6 ft, or 4.9 ft with a long period), based on how much of the wave reaches this shore given the way it faces. In the U.S., today's and tomorrow's rip current risk comes from the National Weather Service surf zone forecast when it issues one; otherwise we estimate it from the waves.
- Best windows: runs of 2 to 5 hours rated 4 or more and close to the best hour, at least one hour apart.
- Day rating: the average of the best window; a 2-hour window keeps 85% of it and a 3-hour window 95%.
Today, in the best window: sun 3 of 3, warmth 2.5 of 4, calm sea 0 of 1, water 0.5 of 1 and tide 0.9 of 1; minus waves 2; short window: the rating keeps 85%.
It's a guide, not a guarantee: weather changes and every beach is different. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
Questions about the beach in East London
Is it a beach day in East London today?
A poor beach day: 4/10. Best from 8:00 am to 10:00 am, with sunshine, pleasant temperatures and little wind, though with some waves.
What are the swimming conditions in East London today?
4.8 ft waves every 10 s: swim with care and stay where you can stand. High rip current risk. If you're caught in a rip current, don't swim against it: swim parallel to shore and wave for help. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
How warm is the water in East London?
About 67 °F today: cool. That's the sea surface temperature offshore; it can differ a little at the shoreline.
How much sun protection do I need in East London today?
UV reaches 11 (extreme): SPF 50 sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat, and seek shade from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm.
When is low tide in East London?
Today low tide is at 11:17 am and 11:49 pm: that's when there's the most sand. High tide is at 5:18 am and 5:38 pm. Coefficient 92 (spring tides): little sand left at high tide.
What about tomorrow? Will it be a beach day in East London?
Tomorrow, Friday, October 30: a poor beach day (3/10).
What beaches are near East London?
Orient Beach (0.7 mi) and Paradise Naturist Beach (2.3 mi). See below for amenities and water quality.
Are there jellyfish or sargassum today?
We don't know: there's no open data on jellyfish, sargassum or closures for each beach. Ask the lifeguard, check the flags or the local beach authority's website.
How is the rating worked out?
From the hourly forecast: sun and clouds, feels-like temperature, rain, wind (and whether it blows onshore or offshore), waves and their period, UV, water temperature and, where there is one, the tide. Each factor adds or takes away a fixed number of points and the rating sums them up out of 10.
More about East London today
Learn more
Our own calculation, using the Open-Meteo forecast (ECMWF, NOAA GFS, Météo-France, Copernicus Marine and CAMS, CC BY 4.0), the tide from East London (TICON-4) and the sun from astronomy-engine. Slackwater database (https://github.com/openwatersio/slackwater-database). Source: Hart-Davis, M., Dettmering, D., Seitz, F. (2025), TICON-4: TIdal CONstants based on GESLA-4 sea-level records, SEANOE, https://doi.org/10.17882/109129. Licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Modified: see https://github.com/openwatersio/slackwater-database#modifications-to-source-data