Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Lukulu Zambia

In Lukulu, the wet season is humid and overcast, the dry season is mostly clear, and it is hot year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 51°F to 97°F and is rarely below 47°F or above 102°F.

Based on the beach/pool score, the best time of year to visit Lukulu for hot-weather activities is from mid August to mid October.

The hot season lasts for 1.8 months, from September 7 to October 31, with an average daily high temperature above 94°F. The hottest month of the year in Lukulu is October, with an average high of 96°F and low of 70°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.5 months, from May 12 to July 28, with an average daily high temperature below 85°F. The coldest month of the year in Lukulu is July, with an average low of 52°F and high of 83°F.

In Lukulu, 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 in Lukulu begins around April 9 and lasts for 6.3 months, ending around October 18.

The clearest month of the year in Lukulu is June, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 90% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 18 and lasts for 5.7 months, ending around April 9.

The cloudiest month of the year in Lukulu is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 84% 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 in Lukulu varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.7 months, from November 8 to March 31, with a greater than 36% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Lukulu is January, with an average of 21.8 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.3 months, from March 31 to November 8. The month with the fewest wet days in Lukulu is June, 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 in Lukulu is January, with an average of 21.8 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 73% 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. Lukulu experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 6.9 months, from September 30 to April 25, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Lukulu is January, with an average rainfall of 7.0 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.1 months, from April 25 to September 30. The month with the least rain in Lukulu is July, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Lukulu varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 11 hours, 17 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 12 hours, 59 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:47 AM on November 22, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 5 minutes later at 6:52 AM on July 10. The earliest sunset is at 6:04 PM on June 1, and the latest sunset is 58 minutes later at 7:03 PM on January 22.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Lukulu 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.

Lukulu experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 4.8 months, from November 17 to April 10, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 17% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Lukulu is January, with 19.5 days that are muggy or worse.

The least muggy day of the year is July 14, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.

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 in Lukulu experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.5 months, from June 9 to October 27, with average wind speeds of more than 8.2 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Lukulu is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 10.3 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.4 months, from October 27 to June 9. The calmest month of the year in Lukulu is December, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.2 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Lukulu varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the east for 9.4 months, from February 21 to December 1, with a peak percentage of 90% on April 22. The wind is most often from the north for 2.7 months, from December 1 to February 21, with a peak percentage of 51% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Lukulu 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 Lukulu for general outdoor tourist activities is from early May to late August, with a peak score in the second week of June.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Lukulu for hot-weather activities is from mid August to mid October, with a peak score in the second 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 in Lukulu 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 1.6 months, from September 2 to October 22, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.7 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Lukulu is September, with an average of 6.9 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.3 months, from November 25 to March 1, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.7 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Lukulu is January, with an average of 5.4 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Lukulu are -14.371 deg latitude, 23.242 deg longitude, and 3,438 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Lukulu contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 125 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3,424 feet. Within 10 miles also contains only modest variations in elevation (164 feet). Within 50 miles also contains only modest variations in elevation (433 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Lukulu is covered by cropland (100%), within 10 miles by cropland (63%) and grassland (18%), and within 50 miles by grassland (34%) and trees (25%).