Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Nakonde Zambia

In Nakonde, the wet season is overcast, the dry season is windy and mostly clear, and it is comfortable year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 45°F to 82°F and is rarely below 40°F or above 86°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Nakonde for warm-weather activities is from late July to mid October.

The warm season lasts for 2.1 months, from September 22 to November 26, with an average daily high temperature above 79°F. The hottest month of the year in Nakonde is November, with an average high of 80°F and low of 62°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.8 months, from April 11 to August 4, with an average daily high temperature below 72°F. The coldest month of the year in Nakonde is July, with an average low of 46°F and high of 70°F.

In Nakonde, 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 Nakonde begins around April 20 and lasts for 6.3 months, ending around October 28.

The clearest month of the year in Nakonde is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 83% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 28 and lasts for 5.7 months, ending around April 20.

The cloudiest month of the year in Nakonde is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 89% 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 Nakonde varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.8 months, from November 25 to April 17, with a greater than 37% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Nakonde is January, with an average of 22.3 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.2 months, from April 17 to November 25. The month with the fewest wet days in Nakonde is August, with an average of 0.2 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 Nakonde is January, with an average of 22.3 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. Nakonde experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.3 months, from October 14 to May 23, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Nakonde is January, with an average rainfall of 8.3 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 4.7 months, from May 23 to October 14. The month with the least rain in Nakonde is August, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Nakonde does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 40 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 11 hours, 35 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 12 hours, 40 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:17 AM on November 16, and the latest sunrise is 49 minutes later at 6:06 AM on July 13. The earliest sunset is at 5:35 PM on May 26, and the latest sunset is 43 minutes later at 6:17 PM on January 27.

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

The perceived humidity level in Nakonde, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, staying within 1% of 1% throughout.

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 Nakonde experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.2 months, from April 9 to November 14, with average wind speeds of more than 7.7 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Nakonde is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 10.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.8 months, from November 14 to April 9. The calmest month of the year in Nakonde is February, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.9 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the north for 1.3 months, from January 2 to February 12, with a peak percentage of 34% on January 7. The wind is most often from the east for 11 months, from February 12 to January 2, with a peak percentage of 33% on January 1.

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

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 Nakonde for hot-weather activities is from late September to mid November, with a peak score in the third week of October.

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 Nakonde 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 2.5 months, from August 24 to November 8, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.0 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Nakonde is October, with an average of 7.4 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.6 months, from December 16 to March 5, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.4 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Nakonde is January, with an average of 4.9 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Nakonde are -9.342 deg latitude, 32.745 deg longitude, and 5,213 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Nakonde contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 623 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 5,233 feet. Within 10 miles contains significant variations in elevation (1,444 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (5,203 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Nakonde is covered by grassland (60%) and shrubs (29%), within 10 miles by shrubs (42%) and cropland (31%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (33%) and trees (32%).