With its unique climate, Namaqualand has many features that it shares with no other part of the world, as no other desert receives such regular, soft, and effective rainfall. This feature, together with its diverse plant life and unusual physical environment, make it the world's only desert hotspot of biodiversity. Rainfall , supplemented by regular fog and dewfalls , may sound ideal, but Namaqualand has its own uncertainties. In some years, rain may arrive early or late, compressing the growing season into a two to three week period or with unusually long bouts of berg winds , which tend to dry out the effect of the rains received. These predictable regular winter rains are due to the Benguela Current and the effect of the inland plateau (Hardeveld).

Rainfall

Namaqualand is the only desert in the world that gets regular soft, soaking winter rains, once again varying from region to region.

• The Knersvlakte receives some 150 millimeters of rain,

• the Hardeveld some 200 millimeters,

• the Kamiesberg up to 400 millimeters,

• the south Sandveld receiving between 150,

• the north Sandveld less than 100 millimeters,

• the Richtersveld on average receives some 50 millimeters of rain,

• but then the Vandersterr Mountains receives more than 300 millimeters of rain.

Temperature

The Benguela Current plays a very important role in Namaqualand 's climate, with onshore winds blowing over the cold, up welled waters of the Atlantic Ocean ensuring that summer temperatures are seldom extreme, ranging from 25 to 35 degrees Celsius, depending on the region. Along the coast (Sandveld), temperatures reach 25 degrees Celsius in summer. Winter temperatures range from 5 to 15 degrees Celsius, depending on the area. Frost occurs in the high lying regions with snow occasionally falling in the Kamiesberg uplands region.

Fog

The fog that blankets much of Namaqualand is a phenomenon that occurs frequently during the autumn months when onshore wind speeds are not strong enough to produce the turbulence that breaks up the fog. The fog is an important alternative source of moisture for the plants. This forms due to warm humid air passing over the cold waters of the Namaqualand coast where it cools down rapidly, becoming saturated, resulting in the formation of fog.

Dew

Another source of moisture is dew, caused by the close proximity to the cold Atlantic . Namaqualand is very prone to heavy dewfalls, which occur especially in spring and autumn when the humid air is cooled at night to below dew point.

Wind

The other factor affecting Namaqualand 's climate is the elevated inland plateau of Southern Africa . During winter, a stable cell of dry, descending air develops over the plateau. This air at a relatively high pressure moves towards the lower-pressure areas of the coast, especially in the period before an eastward-moving cold front strikes land. This descending air compresses as it reaches the coast, becoming warm and turbulent. These warm winds, called berg winds, create ideal conditions for plant growth and pollinator activity in the middle of winter.