Lusaka climate

Name: Lusaka
Address: ZM

Lusaka is warmest in October, with average highs of 31 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 11 °C. January is the wettest month (235 mm) and August the driest (0.4 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Lusaka averages 901 mm of rain and 192 days above 25 °C.

Zambia · population 2,212,301 · 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 31 °C
Coldest month July 11 °C
Driest month August 0 mm
Wettest month January 235 mm
Least cloud August 13 % cloud
Hottest on record November 36 °C
Coldest on record July 6.0 °C

What to expectLusaka through the year

Lusaka has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 22 °C in July to 31 °C in October, a swing of 8.7 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 192 days a year reach 25 °C, 44 of them reach 30 °C. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 36 °C, in November.

Rain is strongly seasonal. January averages 235 mm against 0 mm in August — 578 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	25.1 °C	235 mm	83 %
February	25.0 °C	180 mm	76 %
March	25.0 °C	123 mm	63 %
April	24.6 °C	25 mm	37 %
May	23.9 °C	3 mm	22 %
June	22.0 °C	1 mm	18 %
July	21.7 °C	1 mm	18 %
August	25.0 °C	under 1 mm	13 %
September	28.7 °C	2 mm	14 %
October	30.5 °C	15 mm	27 %
November	29.0 °C	93 mm	59 %
December	26.0 °C	223 mm	80 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C
January	25.1 °C	17.9 °C	21.1 °C	32.5 °C	13.5 °C	16	0
February	25.0 °C	17.8 °C	21.0 °C	31.0 °C	13.3 °C	14	0
March	25.0 °C	17.5 °C	20.8 °C	31.3 °C	11.8 °C	15	0
April	24.6 °C	15.7 °C	19.8 °C	31.6 °C	9.9 °C	12	0
May	23.9 °C	13.7 °C	18.4 °C	30.7 °C	8.8 °C	8	0
June	22.0 °C	11.6 °C	16.4 °C	27.5 °C	6.9 °C	2	0
July	21.7 °C	11.1 °C	15.9 °C	28.6 °C	6.0 °C	3	0
August	25.0 °C	13.3 °C	18.7 °C	32.7 °C	6.8 °C	16	0
September	28.7 °C	16.7 °C	22.4 °C	35.0 °C	10.3 °C	28	9
October	30.5 °C	19.2 °C	24.6 °C	36.3 °C	12.3 °C	30	20
November	29.0 °C	19.3 °C	23.8 °C	36.4 °C	13.0 °C	26	12
December	26.0 °C	18.2 °C	21.6 °C	33.9 °C	13.4 °C	21	2

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	235 mm	25	13 h/day	83 %	83 %	14 km/h
February	180 mm	22	13 h/day	76 %	83 %	14 km/h
March	123 mm	18	12 h/day	63 %	80 %	16 km/h
April	25 mm	5	12 h/day	37 %	70 %	19 km/h
May	3 mm	1	11 h/day	22 %	60 %	18 km/h
June	1 mm	0	11 h/day	18 %	58 %	18 km/h
July	1 mm	0	11 h/day	18 %	55 %	20 km/h
August	under 1 mm	0	12 h/day	13 %	46 %	20 km/h
September	2 mm	0	12 h/day	14 %	38 %	21 km/h
October	15 mm	3	12 h/day	27 %	40 %	21 km/h
November	93 mm	14	13 h/day	59 %	57 %	18 km/h
December	223 mm	24	13 h/day	80 %	78 %	15 km/h

How Lusaka 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
Lusaka	31 °C	11 °C	901 mm	192
Kabwe · Zambia	31 °C	11 °C	869 mm	222
Luanshya · Zambia	32 °C	12 °C	934 mm	265
Ndola · Zambia	31 °C	11 °C	1,072 mm	244
Kitwe · Zambia	32 °C	11 °C	1,088 mm	281
Mufulira · Zambia	32 °C	12 °C	1,114 mm	277
Chingola · Zambia	31 °C	12 °C	1,086 mm	240

Where Lusaka ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
Places with the best weather in Africa in May	8thof 50	96/100
Places with the best weather in Africa in June	10thof 50	97/100
Places with the best weather in the world in June	13thof 50	97/100
Places with the best weather in the world in May	13thof 50	96/100
Places with the best weather in Africa in July	19thof 50	96/100
Places with the best weather in Africa in August	25thof 50	94/100

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

QuestionsCommon questions about Lusaka’s climate

When is the best time to visit Lusaka?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. February, March, April 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 Lusaka get?

In October, the warmest month, daily highs average 31 °C. About 44 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 Lusaka?

January, averaging 235 mm over 25 days with rain. The driest month is August with 0 mm. The year as a whole averages 901 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 Lusaka 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.