Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Beitbridge Zimbabwe

In Beitbridge, the summers are long, hot, humid, and partly cloudy and the winters are short, cool, dry, and clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 50°F to 92°F and is rarely below 43°F or above 101°F.

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

The hot season lasts for 5.2 months, from October 14 to March 21, with an average daily high temperature above 88°F. The hottest month of the year in Beitbridge is January, with an average high of 91°F and low of 73°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.2 months, from May 31 to August 5, with an average daily high temperature below 79°F. The coldest month of the year in Beitbridge is July, with an average low of 50°F and high of 77°F.

In Beitbridge, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Beitbridge begins around March 18 and lasts for 7.3 months, ending around October 29.

The clearest month of the year in Beitbridge is June, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 95% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 29 and lasts for 4.7 months, ending around March 18.

The cloudiest month of the year in Beitbridge is December, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 48% 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 Beitbridge varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.5 months, from November 2 to March 16, with a greater than 19% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Beitbridge is December, with an average of 10.8 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.5 months, from March 16 to November 2. The month with the fewest wet days in Beitbridge is August, with an average of 0.4 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 Beitbridge is December, with an average of 10.8 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 37% on December 1.

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. Beitbridge experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 6.5 months, from October 4 to April 20, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Beitbridge is January, with an average rainfall of 3.0 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.5 months, from April 20 to October 4. The month with the least rain in Beitbridge is June, with an average rainfall of 0.1 inches.

The length of the day in Beitbridge varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 10 hours, 46 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 13 hours, 30 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:07 AM on November 28, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 33 minutes later at 6:40 AM on July 4. The earliest sunset is at 5:23 PM on June 5, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 26 minutes later at 6:49 PM on January 14.

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

Beitbridge experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 5.4 months, from October 29 to April 11, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 13% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Beitbridge is January, with 15.8 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in Beitbridge 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 in Beitbridge experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.3 months, from August 27 to March 4, with average wind speeds of more than 9.2 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Beitbridge is October, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.3 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.7 months, from March 4 to August 27. The calmest month of the year in Beitbridge is May, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.0 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Beitbridge is from the east throughout the year.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Beitbridge 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 Beitbridge for general outdoor tourist activities is from late April to mid September, with a peak score in the first week of August.

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 Beitbridge for hot-weather activities are from early March to mid May and from late August to late October, with a peak score in the last 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 Beitbridge 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 significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 5.0 months, from October 5 to March 5, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.1 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Beitbridge is January, with an average of 7.6 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.6 months, from May 12 to July 31, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Beitbridge is June, with an average of 4.6 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Beitbridge are -22.217 deg latitude, 30.000 deg longitude, and 1,512 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Beitbridge contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 610 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 1,511 feet. Within 10 miles contains significant variations in elevation (853 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (4,144 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Beitbridge is covered by shrubs (72%) and artificial surfaces (20%), within 10 miles by shrubs (55%) and cropland (40%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (75%) and cropland (14%).