Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Kariba Airport Zimbabwe

At Kariba Airport, the wet season is oppressive and mostly cloudy, the dry season is mostly clear, and it is hot year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 56°F to 96°F and is rarely below 52°F or above 102°F.

Based on the beach/pool score, the best times of year to visit Kariba Airport for hot-weather activities are from mid April to early May and from mid August to early October.

The hot season lasts for 2.1 months, from September 22 to November 25, with an average daily high temperature above 92°F. The hottest month of the year at Kariba Airport is October, with an average high of 95°F and low of 77°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.4 months, from May 24 to August 5, with an average daily high temperature below 82°F. The coldest month of the year at Kariba Airport is July, with an average low of 57°F and high of 79°F.

At Kariba Airport, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year at Kariba Airport begins around March 29 and lasts for 7.2 months, ending around November 5.

The clearest month of the year at Kariba Airport is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 93% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 5 and lasts for 4.7 months, ending around March 29.

The cloudiest month of the year at Kariba Airport is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 77% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days at Kariba Airport varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 3.9 months, from November 21 to March 16, with a greater than 35% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Kariba Airport is January, with an average of 20.8 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 8.1 months, from March 16 to November 21. The month with the fewest wet days at Kariba Airport is August, with an average of 0.0 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone at Kariba Airport is January, with an average of 20.8 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 70% on January 28.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Kariba Airport experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 6.2 months, from October 17 to April 23, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain at Kariba Airport is January, with an average rainfall of 7.3 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.8 months, from April 23 to October 17. The month with the least rain at Kariba Airport is August, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day at Kariba Airport varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 11 hours, 9 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 13 hours, 7 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:21 AM on November 23, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 12 minutes later at 6:33 AM on July 7. The earliest sunset is at 5:38 PM on June 3, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 6 minutes later at 6:44 PM on January 19.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed at Kariba Airport during 2024.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

Kariba Airport experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 5.7 months, from November 8 to April 28, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 24% of the time. The month with the most muggy days at Kariba Airport is January, with 29.7 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days at Kariba Airport is July, with 0.0 days that are muggy or worse.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed at Kariba Airport experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 3.3 months, from August 16 to November 27, with average wind speeds of more than 9.4 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Kariba Airport is October, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.9 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 8.7 months, from November 27 to August 16. The calmest month of the year at Kariba Airport is February, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.7 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Kariba Airport is from the east throughout the year.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Kariba Airport throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Kariba Airport for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid May to late August, with a peak score in the third week of July.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Kariba Airport for hot-weather activities are from mid April to early May and from mid August to early October, with a peak score in the first week of September.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

Temperatures at Kariba Airport are sufficiently warm year round that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss the growing season in these terms. We nevertheless include the chart below as an illustration of the distribution of temperatures experienced throughout the year.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 1.9 months, from September 21 to November 18, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.0 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Kariba Airport is October, with an average of 7.3 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.4 months, from May 15 to July 28, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.7 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Kariba Airport is June, with an average of 5.3 kWh.