Solwezi climate

Name: Solwezi
Address: ZM

Solwezi is warmest in October, with average highs of 31 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 11 °C. January is the wettest month (272 mm) and July the driest (0.05 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Solwezi averages 1,212 mm of rain and 271 days above 25 °C.

Zambia · population 301,370 · 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 July 0 mm
Wettest month January 272 mm
Least cloud July 15 % cloud
Hottest on record October 36 °C
Coldest on record July 7.5 °C

What to expectSolwezi through the year

Solwezi has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 25 °C in July to 31 °C in October, a swing of 6.4 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 271 days a year reach 25 °C, 58 of them reach 30 °C. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 36 °C, in October.

Rain is strongly seasonal. January averages 272 mm against 0 mm in July — 5,839 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	272 mm	90 %
February	25.3 °C	226 mm	88 %
March	25.6 °C	202 mm	78 %
April	25.7 °C	46 mm	53 %
May	26.6 °C	4 mm	31 %
June	25.4 °C	under 1 mm	17 %
July	25.3 °C	under 1 mm	15 %
August	28.2 °C	under 1 mm	19 %
September	30.9 °C	3 mm	30 %
October	31.1 °C	29 mm	51 %
November	27.7 °C	159 mm	76 %
December	25.3 °C	271 mm	88 %

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	16.8 °C	20.2 °C	29.8 °C	14.7 °C	18	0
February	25.3 °C	16.8 °C	20.3 °C	29.5 °C	14.1 °C	17	0
March	25.6 °C	16.6 °C	20.3 °C	29.9 °C	13.4 °C	21	0
April	25.7 °C	15.7 °C	20.2 °C	31.3 °C	11.6 °C	20	0
May	26.6 °C	14.3 °C	20.0 °C	32.0 °C	9.6 °C	27	0
June	25.4 °C	11.9 °C	18.2 °C	29.6 °C	7.8 °C	18	0
July	25.3 °C	11.4 °C	17.9 °C	29.8 °C	7.5 °C	18	0
August	28.2 °C	13.9 °C	20.6 °C	33.2 °C	9.1 °C	29	6
September	30.9 °C	16.9 °C	23.6 °C	35.3 °C	10.2 °C	30	22
October	31.1 °C	18.3 °C	24.3 °C	35.9 °C	13.3 °C	30	23
November	27.7 °C	17.3 °C	21.8 °C	35.7 °C	14.4 °C	25	6
December	25.3 °C	16.7 °C	20.3 °C	30.3 °C	14.3 °C	18	0

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	272 mm	27	13 h/day	90 %	85 %	11 km/h
February	226 mm	25	13 h/day	88 %	85 %	10 km/h
March	202 mm	24	12 h/day	78 %	84 %	11 km/h
April	46 mm	8	12 h/day	53 %	73 %	13 km/h
May	4 mm	1	12 h/day	31 %	54 %	13 km/h
June	under 1 mm	0	11 h/day	17 %	47 %	13 km/h
July	under 1 mm	0	11 h/day	15 %	44 %	14 km/h
August	under 1 mm	0	12 h/day	19 %	37 %	14 km/h
September	3 mm	1	12 h/day	30 %	33 %	15 km/h
October	29 mm	5	12 h/day	51 %	45 %	14 km/h
November	159 mm	20	13 h/day	76 %	73 %	11 km/h
December	271 mm	28	13 h/day	88 %	85 %	10.0 km/h

How Solwezi 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
Solwezi	31 °C	11 °C	1,212 mm	271
Kipushi · Democratic Republic of the Congo	31 °C	11 °C	1,174 mm	253
Lubumbashi · Democratic Republic of the Congo	32 °C	11 °C	1,043 mm	286
Likasi · Democratic Republic of the Congo	31 °C	12 °C	1,122 mm	291
Chingola · Zambia	31 °C	12 °C	1,086 mm	240
Kolwezi · Democratic Republic of the Congo	30 °C	13 °C	1,041 mm	223
Mufulira · Zambia	32 °C	12 °C	1,114 mm	277

Where Solwezi ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The driest places in Africa in July	32nd of 50	0.05 mm
The driest places in Africa in August	35th of 50	0.07 mm
Places with the best weather in Africa in June	36th of 50	95/100
Places with the best weather in Africa in July	38th of 50	94/100

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

QuestionsCommon questions about Solwezi’s climate

When is the best time to visit Solwezi?

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 Solwezi get?

In October, the warmest month, daily highs average 31 °C. About 58 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 Solwezi?

January, averaging 272 mm over 27 days with rain. The driest month is July with 0 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,212 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 Solwezi 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: -12.169°, 26.389° (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.