Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Mufumbwe Zambia

In Mufumbwe, the wet season is warm, humid, and overcast and the dry season is hot and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 50°F to 96°F and is rarely below 45°F or above 101°F.

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

The hot season lasts for 2.0 months, from September 5 to November 4, with an average daily high temperature above 93°F. The hottest month of the year in Mufumbwe is October, with an average high of 96°F and low of 68°F.

The cool season lasts for 4.1 months, from December 17 to April 19, with an average daily high temperature below 82°F. The coldest month of the year in Mufumbwe is July, with an average low of 51°F and high of 83°F.

In Mufumbwe, 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 Mufumbwe begins around April 9 and lasts for 6.2 months, ending around October 17.

The clearest month of the year in Mufumbwe is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 89% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 17 and lasts for 5.8 months, ending around April 9.

The cloudiest month of the year in Mufumbwe is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 86% 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 Mufumbwe varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.7 months, from November 9 to March 31, with a greater than 38% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Mufumbwe is January, with an average of 23.0 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.3 months, from March 31 to November 9. The month with the fewest wet days in Mufumbwe is July, 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 Mufumbwe is January, with an average of 23.0 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 76% on January 22.

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. Mufumbwe experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.0 months, from September 29 to April 27, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Mufumbwe is January, with an average rainfall of 8.3 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.0 months, from April 27 to September 29. The month with the least rain in Mufumbwe is July, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Mufumbwe varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 11 hours, 19 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 12 hours, 56 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:42 AM on November 20, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 3 minutes later at 6:45 AM on July 9. The earliest sunset is at 5:59 PM on May 31, and the latest sunset is 56 minutes later at 6:55 PM on January 22.

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

Mufumbwe experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 4.6 months, from November 24 to April 13, 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 Mufumbwe is January, with 20.1 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in Mufumbwe is June, 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 in Mufumbwe experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.0 months, from May 30 to October 31, with average wind speeds of more than 8.0 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Mufumbwe is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 10.3 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.0 months, from October 31 to May 30. The calmest month of the year in Mufumbwe is February, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.6 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the east for 10 months, from February 13 to December 23, with a peak percentage of 94% on August 24. The wind is most often from the north for 1.6 months, from December 23 to February 13, with a peak percentage of 39% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Mufumbwe 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 Mufumbwe for general outdoor tourist activities is from late April to late August, with a peak score in the first 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 time of year to visit Mufumbwe for hot-weather activities is from late 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 Mufumbwe 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 1.8 months, from August 30 to October 23, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.7 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Mufumbwe is September, with an average of 7.0 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.9 months, from November 28 to February 26, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.6 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Mufumbwe is January, with an average of 5.3 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Mufumbwe are -13.683 deg latitude, 24.800 deg longitude, and 3,750 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Mufumbwe contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 279 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3,752 feet. Within 10 miles also contains only modest variations in elevation (430 feet). Within 50 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (876 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Mufumbwe is covered by shrubs (94%), within 10 miles by shrubs (56%) and trees (44%), and within 50 miles by trees (64%) and shrubs (30%).