Lubumbashi climate

Name: Lubumbashi
Address: CD

Lubumbashi is warmest in October, with average highs of 32 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 11 °C. January is the wettest month (250 mm) and July the driest (0.02 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Lubumbashi averages 1,043 mm of rain and 286 days above 25 °C.

Democratic Republic of the Congo · population 2,221,925 · 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 October 32 °C
Coldest month July 11 °C
Driest month July 0 mm
Wettest month January 250 mm
Least cloud July 15 % cloud
Hottest on record October 35 °C
Coldest on record June 7.2 °C

What to expectLubumbashi through the year

Lubumbashi has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 25 °C in July to 32 °C in October, a swing of 6.8 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 286 days a year reach 25 °C, 62 of them reach 30 °C. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 35 °C, in October.

Rain is strongly seasonal. January averages 250 mm against 0 mm in July — 12,508 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	25.5 °C	250 mm	91 %
February	25.7 °C	205 mm	88 %
March	25.8 °C	170 mm	78 %
April	25.9 °C	36 mm	53 %
May	26.7 °C	2 mm	29 %
June	25.4 °C	under 1 mm	17 %
July	25.3 °C	under 1 mm	15 %
August	28.1 °C	under 1 mm	18 %
September	30.9 °C	3 mm	28 %
October	31.5 °C	24 mm	49 %
November	28.6 °C	128 mm	74 %
December	25.9 °C	225 mm	87 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C
January	25.5 °C	17.5 °C	20.8 °C	29.6 °C	14.9 °C	20	0
February	25.7 °C	17.4 °C	20.9 °C	30.0 °C	13.0 °C	20	0
March	25.8 °C	17.2 °C	20.9 °C	29.4 °C	13.0 °C	23	0
April	25.9 °C	16.1 °C	20.7 °C	30.4 °C	11.2 °C	22	0
May	26.7 °C	14.5 °C	20.4 °C	30.9 °C	9.4 °C	28	0
June	25.4 °C	12.0 °C	18.6 °C	29.3 °C	7.2 °C	18	0
July	25.3 °C	11.5 °C	18.2 °C	29.7 °C	7.4 °C	18	0
August	28.1 °C	14.0 °C	20.9 °C	32.5 °C	8.7 °C	29	5
September	30.9 °C	17.0 °C	23.8 °C	35.1 °C	10.7 °C	30	22
October	31.5 °C	18.8 °C	25.0 °C	35.2 °C	13.7 °C	31	25
November	28.6 °C	18.1 °C	22.8 °C	34.9 °C	14.7 °C	27	9
December	25.9 °C	17.4 °C	21.1 °C	32.2 °C	14.8 °C	22	0

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	250 mm	28	13 h/day	91 %	85 %	11 km/h
February	205 mm	24	12 h/day	88 %	85 %	11 km/h
March	170 mm	23	12 h/day	78 %	84 %	11 km/h
April	36 mm	7	12 h/day	53 %	73 %	14 km/h
May	2 mm	0	12 h/day	29 %	56 %	14 km/h
June	under 1 mm	0	11 h/day	17 %	50 %	14 km/h
July	under 1 mm	0	12 h/day	15 %	46 %	15 km/h
August	under 1 mm	0	12 h/day	18 %	39 %	16 km/h
September	3 mm	1	12 h/day	28 %	35 %	16 km/h
October	24 mm	5	12 h/day	49 %	44 %	16 km/h
November	128 mm	19	13 h/day	74 %	69 %	12 km/h
December	225 mm	28	13 h/day	87 %	83 %	10 km/h

How Lubumbashi 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
Lubumbashi	32 °C	11 °C	1,043 mm	286
Kipushi · Democratic Republic of the Congo	31 °C	11 °C	1,174 mm	253
Chingola · Zambia	31 °C	12 °C	1,086 mm	240
Likasi · Democratic Republic of the Congo	31 °C	12 °C	1,122 mm	291
Mufulira · Zambia	32 °C	12 °C	1,114 mm	277
Solwezi · Zambia	31 °C	11 °C	1,212 mm	271
Kitwe · Zambia	32 °C	11 °C	1,088 mm	281

Where Lubumbashi ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The driest places in Africa in June	19th of 50	0.07 mm
The driest places in Africa in July	24th of 50	0.02 mm
The driest places in Africa in August	25th of 50	0.04 mm
Places with the best weather in Africa in July	33rd of 50	94/100
Places with the best weather in Africa in June	35th of 50	95/100
The driest places in the world in August	43rd of 50	0.04 mm

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

QuestionsCommon questions about Lubumbashi’s climate

When is the best time to visit Lubumbashi?

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

How hot does Lubumbashi get?

In October, the warmest month, daily highs average 32 °C. About 62 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 35 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 11 °C in July, the coldest month. Freezing nights are not part of a normal year here.

Which month is wettest in Lubumbashi?

January, averaging 250 mm over 28 days with rain. The driest month is July with 0 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,043 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 Lubumbashi 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
Data point: -11.661°, 27.479° (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
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.