Gaborone climate

Name: Gaborone
Address: BW

Gaborone is warmest in November, with average highs of 31 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 6.1 °C. January is the wettest month (84 mm) and July the driest (1.9 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Gaborone averages 470 mm of rain, 244 days above 25 °C and 0 days below freezing.

Botswana · population 246,325 · 1991–2020 normals

Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month

Warmest month November 31 °C
Coldest month July 6.1 °C
Driest month July 2 mm
Wettest month January 84 mm
Least cloud August 12 % cloud
Hottest on record January 43 °C
Coldest on record July -0.7 °C

What to expectGaborone through the year

Gaborone has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 21 °C in July to 31 °C in November, a swing of 12 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 244 days a year reach 25 °C, 126 of them reach 30 °C, 0 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 43 °C, in January.

Rain is strongly seasonal. January averages 84 mm against 2 mm in July — 43 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	30.9 °C	84 mm	48 %
February	30.5 °C	80 mm	45 %
March	29.1 °C	58 mm	38 %
April	26.6 °C	29 mm	31 %
May	24.0 °C	14 mm	16 %
June	21.1 °C	8 mm	13 %
July	20.9 °C	2 mm	12 %
August	24.6 °C	3 mm	12 %
September	29.1 °C	10 mm	19 %
October	31.1 °C	33 mm	31 %
November	31.1 °C	66 mm	45 %
December	31.1 °C	81 mm	50 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C
January	30.9 °C	20.1 °C	25.4 °C	42.7 °C	12.7 °C	29	19
February	30.5 °C	19.9 °C	25.1 °C	39.1 °C	14.1 °C	26	16
March	29.1 °C	18.2 °C	23.5 °C	38.2 °C	11.4 °C	27	12
April	26.6 °C	14.5 °C	20.5 °C	34.3 °C	6.0 °C	21	4
May	24.0 °C	10.1 °C	16.9 °C	31.9 °C	0.0 °C	11	1
June	21.1 °C	6.8 °C	13.7 °C	28.3 °C	-0.1 °C	2	0
July	20.9 °C	6.1 °C	13.4 °C	31.0 °C	-0.7 °C	2	0
August	24.6 °C	8.9 °C	16.7 °C	33.3 °C	1.2 °C	14	2
September	29.1 °C	13.3 °C	21.2 °C	37.5 °C	3.1 °C	25	14
October	31.1 °C	16.6 °C	23.9 °C	40.7 °C	8.3 °C	29	20
November	31.1 °C	18.1 °C	24.6 °C	40.8 °C	9.6 °C	28	19
December	31.1 °C	19.5 °C	25.2 °C	40.3 °C	11.2 °C	29	19

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	84 mm	12	13 h/day	48 %	58 %	16 km/h
February	80 mm	10	13 h/day	45 %	59 %	16 km/h
March	58 mm	8	12 h/day	38 %	59 %	15 km/h
April	29 mm	4	12 h/day	31 %	58 %	14 km/h
May	14 mm	2	11 h/day	16 %	53 %	13 km/h
June	8 mm	1	11 h/day	13 %	54 %	13 km/h
July	2 mm	0	11 h/day	12 %	49 %	14 km/h
August	3 mm	1	11 h/day	12 %	41 %	16 km/h
September	10 mm	1	12 h/day	19 %	36 %	18 km/h
October	33 mm	5	13 h/day	31 %	40 %	19 km/h
November	66 mm	10	13 h/day	45 %	48 %	18 km/h
December	81 mm	11	14 h/day	50 %	56 %	17 km/h

How Gaborone compares

The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.

Destination	Summer high	Winter low	Rain per year	Days above 25 °C
Gaborone	31 °C	6.1 °C	470 mm	244
Rustenburg · South Africa	29 °C	5.4 °C	564 mm	202
Soshanguve · South Africa	29 °C	5.6 °C	570 mm	205
Carletonville · South Africa	26 °C	2.9 °C	705 mm	135
Krugersdorp · South Africa	25 °C	2.6 °C	664 mm	92
Westonaria · South Africa	26 °C	3.1 °C	728 mm	117
Klerksdorp · South Africa	29 °C	3.0 °C	569 mm	194

Where Gaborone ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
Places with the best weather in Africa in May	14thof 50	96/100
Places with the best weather in the world in May	31stof 50	96/100
Places with the best weather in Africa in August	40thof 50	92/100
The coolest places in Africa in June	48thof 50	21 °C
Places with the best weather in Africa in April	49thof 50	92/100

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Gaborone.

QuestionsCommon questions about Gaborone’s climate

When is the best time to visit Gaborone?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. April, May, September sit closest to 20 °C on average, November is the warmest month and July the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Gaborone get?

In November, the warmest month, daily highs average 31 °C. About 126 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 43 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 6.1 °C in July, the coldest month. A normal year has 0 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Gaborone?

January, averaging 84 mm over 12 days with rain. The driest month is July with 2 mm. The year as a whole averages 470 mm.

Are these figures a forecast?

No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Gaborone rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.

Data sources and method

ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0

Normal period: 1991–2020
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.