Livingstone climate

Name: Livingstone
Address: ZM

Livingstone is warmest in October, with average highs of 34 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 10 °C. January is the wettest month (203 mm) and August the driest (0.03 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Livingstone averages 749 mm of rain and 302 days above 25 °C.

Zambia · population 178,361 · 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 34 °C
Coldest month July 10 °C
Driest month August 0 mm
Wettest month January 203 mm
Least cloud August 9 % cloud
Hottest on record October 41 °C
Coldest on record July 4.5 °C

What to expectLivingstone through the year

Livingstone has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 24 °C in July to 34 °C in October, a swing of 10 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 302 days a year reach 25 °C, 123 of them reach 30 °C. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 41 °C, in October.

Rain is strongly seasonal. January averages 203 mm against 0 mm in August — 6,095 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	28.4 °C	203 mm	74 %
February	28.0 °C	154 mm	66 %
March	28.2 °C	93 mm	52 %
April	28.0 °C	20 mm	29 %
May	26.7 °C	2 mm	15 %
June	24.5 °C	1 mm	14 %
July	24.2 °C	under 1 mm	13 %
August	28.1 °C	under 1 mm	9 %
September	32.2 °C	3 mm	13 %
October	34.3 °C	10 mm	27 %
November	32.3 °C	84 mm	57 %
December	29.2 °C	179 mm	73 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C
January	28.4 °C	19.8 °C	23.8 °C	39.6 °C	15.6 °C	29	7
February	28.0 °C	19.5 °C	23.4 °C	35.9 °C	15.0 °C	26	5
March	28.2 °C	18.8 °C	23.2 °C	36.4 °C	13.0 °C	28	7
April	28.0 °C	16.7 °C	22.1 °C	35.3 °C	10.1 °C	27	6
May	26.7 °C	13.8 °C	20.2 °C	33.2 °C	6.8 °C	24	2
June	24.5 °C	11.2 °C	17.7 °C	30.2 °C	4.8 °C	12	0
July	24.2 °C	10.4 °C	17.1 °C	31.1 °C	4.5 °C	11	0
August	28.1 °C	13.0 °C	20.5 °C	35.3 °C	5.4 °C	26	9
September	32.2 °C	17.0 °C	24.6 °C	38.7 °C	9.4 °C	30	24
October	34.3 °C	20.3 °C	27.3 °C	40.7 °C	12.9 °C	31	29
November	32.3 °C	20.9 °C	26.3 °C	40.2 °C	14.6 °C	29	22
December	29.2 °C	20.0 °C	24.2 °C	37.4 °C	14.7 °C	29	11

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	203 mm	21	13 h/day	74 %	76 %	13 km/h
February	154 mm	17	13 h/day	66 %	77 %	13 km/h
March	93 mm	14	12 h/day	52 %	74 %	14 km/h
April	20 mm	3	12 h/day	29 %	63 %	15 km/h
May	2 mm	0	11 h/day	15 %	54 %	14 km/h
June	1 mm	0	11 h/day	14 %	52 %	14 km/h
July	under 1 mm	0	11 h/day	13 %	49 %	15 km/h
August	under 1 mm	0	12 h/day	9 %	39 %	16 km/h
September	3 mm	0	12 h/day	13 %	32 %	18 km/h
October	10 mm	3	12 h/day	27 %	34 %	18 km/h
November	84 mm	13	13 h/day	57 %	53 %	16 km/h
December	179 mm	20	13 h/day	73 %	72 %	14 km/h

How Livingstone 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
Livingstone	34 °C	10 °C	749 mm	302
Lusaka · Zambia	31 °C	11 °C	901 mm	192
Bulawayo · Zimbabwe	30 °C	7.8 °C	599 mm	200
Gweru · Zimbabwe	29 °C	8.4 °C	701 mm	170
Kabwe · Zambia	31 °C	11 °C	869 mm	222
Harare · Zimbabwe	28 °C	7.8 °C	771 mm	139

Where Livingstone ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
Places with the best weather in Africa in June	17thof 50	96/100
Places with the best weather in Africa in July	20thof 50	96/100
Places with the best weather in the world in June	20thof 50	96/100
The driest places in Africa in August	24thof 50	0.03 mm
The warmest places in Africa in October	28thof 50	34 °C
Places with the best weather in the world in July	38thof 50	96/100

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

QuestionsCommon questions about Livingstone’s climate

When is the best time to visit Livingstone?

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 Livingstone get?

In October, the warmest month, daily highs average 34 °C. About 123 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 41 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 10 °C in July, the coldest month. Freezing nights are not part of a normal year here.

Which month is wettest in Livingstone?

January, averaging 203 mm over 21 days with rain. The driest month is August with 0 mm. The year as a whole averages 749 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 Livingstone 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.