Kitwe climate

Name: Kitwe
Address: ZM

Kitwe is warmest in October, with average highs of 32 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 11 °C. January is the wettest month (274 mm) and August the driest (0.04 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Kitwe averages 1,088 mm of rain and 281 days above 25 °C.

Zambia · population 665,961 · 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 August 0 mm
Wettest month January 274 mm
Least cloud July 17 % cloud
Hottest on record November 36 °C
Coldest on record July 6.5 °C

What to expectKitwe through the year

Kitwe has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 25 °C in July to 32 °C in October, a swing of 7.6 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 281 days a year reach 25 °C, 67 of them reach 30 °C. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 36 °C, in November.

Rain is strongly seasonal. January averages 274 mm against 0 mm in August — 6,327 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	25.6 °C	274 mm	89 %
February	25.8 °C	227 mm	86 %
March	25.9 °C	164 mm	75 %
April	26.1 °C	33 mm	49 %
May	26.4 °C	3 mm	29 %
June	24.9 °C	under 1 mm	18 %
July	24.8 °C	under 1 mm	17 %
August	27.7 °C	under 1 mm	17 %
September	30.9 °C	1 mm	23 %
October	31.9 °C	16 mm	41 %
November	29.5 °C	117 mm	68 %
December	26.2 °C	252 mm	86 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C
January	25.6 °C	17.9 °C	21.2 °C	29.5 °C	14.7 °C	21	0
February	25.8 °C	17.7 °C	21.2 °C	30.0 °C	13.4 °C	21	0
March	25.9 °C	17.4 °C	21.2 °C	29.9 °C	12.4 °C	23	0
April	26.1 °C	15.9 °C	20.8 °C	31.3 °C	10.4 °C	23	0
May	26.4 °C	14.1 °C	20.1 °C	31.5 °C	9.3 °C	25	0
June	24.9 °C	11.8 °C	18.3 °C	29.5 °C	7.5 °C	14	0
July	24.8 °C	11.3 °C	17.9 °C	29.7 °C	6.5 °C	14	0
August	27.7 °C	13.7 °C	20.6 °C	32.8 °C	8.0 °C	28	5
September	30.9 °C	16.8 °C	23.9 °C	35.7 °C	10.5 °C	30	21
October	31.9 °C	19.2 °C	25.6 °C	36.0 °C	12.3 °C	31	26
November	29.5 °C	18.9 °C	23.8 °C	36.2 °C	13.7 °C	28	13
December	26.2 °C	18.0 °C	21.6 °C	33.0 °C	13.8 °C	23	1

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	274 mm	28	13 h/day	89 %	85 %	11 km/h
February	227 mm	24	13 h/day	86 %	84 %	11 km/h
March	164 mm	21	12 h/day	75 %	82 %	12 km/h
April	33 mm	6	12 h/day	49 %	71 %	14 km/h
May	3 mm	1	12 h/day	29 %	57 %	14 km/h
June	under 1 mm	0	11 h/day	18 %	52 %	14 km/h
July	under 1 mm	0	11 h/day	17 %	50 %	15 km/h
August	under 1 mm	0	12 h/day	17 %	42 %	16 km/h
September	1 mm	0	12 h/day	23 %	35 %	17 km/h
October	16 mm	3	12 h/day	41 %	40 %	16 km/h
November	117 mm	17	13 h/day	68 %	63 %	13 km/h
December	252 mm	27	13 h/day	86 %	82 %	11 km/h

How Kitwe 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
Kitwe	32 °C	11 °C	1,088 mm	281
Mufulira · Zambia	32 °C	12 °C	1,114 mm	277
Luanshya · Zambia	32 °C	12 °C	934 mm	265
Chingola · Zambia	31 °C	12 °C	1,086 mm	240
Ndola · Zambia	31 °C	11 °C	1,072 mm	244
Lubumbashi · Democratic Republic of the Congo	32 °C	11 °C	1,043 mm	286
Kipushi · Democratic Republic of the Congo	31 °C	11 °C	1,174 mm	253

Where Kitwe ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
Places with the best weather in Africa in June	23rd of 50	96/100
Places with the best weather in Africa in July	24th of 50	95/100
The driest places in Africa in August	27th of 50	0.04 mm
Places with the best weather in the world in June	34th of 50	96/100
The driest places in Africa in September	38th of 50	1.1 mm
The driest places in Africa in July	41st of 50	0.09 mm

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

QuestionsCommon questions about Kitwe’s climate

When is the best time to visit Kitwe?

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

How hot does Kitwe get?

In October, the warmest month, daily highs average 32 °C. About 67 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 36 °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 Kitwe?

January, averaging 274 mm over 28 days with rain. The driest month is August with 0 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,088 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 Kitwe 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: -12.802°, 28.213° (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.