Palapye weather in May

In May, Palapye sees average daytime highs of 26°C and overnight lows near 11°C, with 5 mm of rain across 1.1 wet days and about 10.9 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 27°C in the first days to 24°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 81% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 12 min at the start of May to 10 h 42 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Palapye's 3rd-clearest and 12th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Palapye's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 26°; 10th warmest
Overnight low: 11°; 4th coldest
Rainfall: 5 mm; 1.1 wet days
Daylight: 10 h 54 min; 6:40 AM – 5:35 PM
Cloud cover: 19%; 3rd clearest
Wind: 9 km/h; 12th windiest
Solar energy: 4.6 kWh/m²
Travel score: 9.0; out of 10

Palapye is place in Central District, Botswana.

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← April Palapye year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 27°C in the first days to 24°C by the end.

A typical May day in Palapye reaches about 26°C in the afternoon and slips back to 11°C overnight — a 15°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 22°C and 29°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 2°C cooler than April and about 3°C warmer than June.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	24	24	24
Avg low (°C)	13	13	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	27	13
2	27	13
3	27	13
4	27	13
5	27	13
6	27	12
7	27	12
8	26	12
9	26	12
10	26	12
11	26	12
12	26	12
13	26	11
14	26	11
15	26	11
16	26	11
17	26	11
18	25	11
19	25	11
20	25	10
21	25	10
22	25	10
23	25	10
24	25	10
25	25	10
26	25	9
27	25	9
28	25	9
29	24	9
30	24	9
31	24	9

Palapye weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 10th-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	31° / 21°	92	10.7	13.2	4.5
Feb	31° / 20°	65	8.3	12.8	4.8
Mar	30° / 19°	42	6.1	12.2	5.8
Apr	28° / 15°	15	2.7	11.5	7.8
May	26° / 11°	5	1.1	10.9	9.0
Jun	23° / 8°	6	0.9	10.6	9.2
Jul	23° / 7°	3	0.4	10.8	9.1
Aug	26° / 10°	0	0.1	11.2	9.2
Sep	29° / 15°	6	0.9	11.9	7.1
Oct	31° / 18°	15	3.2	12.5	5.5
Nov	31° / 19°	50	8	13.1	4.6
Dec	31° / 20°	75	10.9	13.4	4.4

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 81% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 9% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 10%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	86	86	87	88	89	89	90	90	91	90	90	90	90	90	90	89	89	90	90	89	89	90	90	90	90	91	91	91	91	91	91
Cloudier (%)	14	14	13	12	11	11	10	10	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	10	10	11	11	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	86	14
2	86	14
3	87	13
4	88	12
5	89	11
6	89	11
7	90	10
8	90	10
9	91	9
10	90	10
11	90	10
12	90	10
13	90	10
14	90	10
15	90	10
16	89	11
17	89	11
18	90	10
19	90	10
20	89	11
21	89	11
22	90	10
23	90	10
24	90	10
25	90	10
26	91	9
27	91	9
28	91	9
29	91	9
30	91	9
31	91	9

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Palapye gets around 5 mm of rain over 1.1 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 4% and peaks near 6% on the wettest days.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	6	6	6	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4

	Rain chance (%)
1	6
2	6
3	6
4	5
5	5
6	5
7	4
8	4
9	4
10	4
11	4
12	3
13	3
14	3
15	3
16	3
17	3
18	3
19	3
20	3
21	3
22	3
23	3
24	3
25	3
26	3
27	3
28	3
29	3
30	3
31	4

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of May feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, May lands in the dry band about 93% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	79	82	83	85	86	87	88	89	91	92	92	93	94	95	95	96	96	97	97	97	97	98	98	98	98	99	99	99	99	99	99
Comfortable (%)	17	15	14	13	12	12	11	10	9	8	8	7	6	5	5	4	4	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1
Humid (%)	4	3	3	2	2	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	79	17	4
2	82	15	3
3	83	14	3
4	85	13	2
5	86	12	2
6	87	12	1
7	88	11	1
8	89	10	1
9	91	9	0
10	92	8	0
11	92	8	0
12	93	7	0
13	94	6	0
14	95	5	0
15	95	5	0
16	96	4	0
17	96	4	0
18	97	3	0
19	97	3	0
20	97	3	0
21	97	3	0
22	98	2	0
23	98	2	0
24	98	2	0
25	98	2	0
26	99	1	0
27	99	1	0
28	99	1	0
29	99	1	0
30	99	1	0
31	99	1	0

Wind in May

Winds average 9 km/h in May, the calmest month.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 9 km/h on the calmest days to 10 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	10	calm
2	10	calm
3	10	calm
4	10	calm
5	10	calm
6	10	calm
7	10	calm
8	10	calm
9	10	calm
10	10	calm
11	10	calm
12	10	calm
13	10	calm
14	10	calm
15	10	calm
16	10	calm
17	9	calm
18	9	calm
19	9	calm
20	9	calm
21	9	calm
22	9	calm
23	9	calm
24	9	calm
25	9	calm
26	9	calm
27	9	calm
28	9	calm
29	9	calm
30	9	calm
31	9	calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 12 min at the start of May to 10 h 42 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 30 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 6:33 AM to 6:47 AM, and sunset from 5:44 PM to 5:31 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	11.2	11.2	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.7	10.7
Sunrise (AM)	6:33	6:34	6:34	6:35	6:35	6:36	6:36	6:36	6:37	6:37	6:38	6:38	6:39	6:39	6:40	6:40	6:41	6:41	6:41	6:42	6:42	6:43	6:43	6:44	6:44	6:45	6:45	6:46	6:46	6:46	6:47
Sunset (PM)	5:44	5:43	5:43	5:42	5:41	5:41	5:40	5:40	5:39	5:38	5:38	5:37	5:37	5:36	5:36	5:35	5:35	5:35	5:34	5:34	5:33	5:33	5:33	5:32	5:32	5:32	5:32	5:31	5:31	5:31	5:31

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.2	6:33	5:44
2	11.2	6:34	5:43
3	11.1	6:34	5:43
4	11.1	6:35	5:42
5	11.1	6:35	5:41
6	11.1	6:36	5:41
7	11.1	6:36	5:40
8	11.1	6:36	5:40
9	11.0	6:37	5:39
10	11.0	6:37	5:38
11	11.0	6:38	5:38
12	11.0	6:38	5:37
13	11.0	6:39	5:37
14	11.0	6:39	5:36
15	10.9	6:40	5:36
16	10.9	6:40	5:35
17	10.9	6:41	5:35
18	10.9	6:41	5:35
19	10.9	6:41	5:34
20	10.9	6:42	5:34
21	10.8	6:42	5:33
22	10.8	6:43	5:33
23	10.8	6:43	5:33
24	10.8	6:44	5:32
25	10.8	6:44	5:32
26	10.8	6:45	5:32
27	10.8	6:45	5:32
28	10.8	6:46	5:31
29	10.8	6:46	5:31
30	10.7	6:46	5:31
31	10.7	6:47	5:31

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 4.6 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.09 kWh/m² to a high of 6.73 kWh/m² in October across the year — May's 4.6 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.6	4.6	4.6	4.6	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.3	4.3	4.3
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	4.8	Bright
2	4.8	Bright
3	4.8	Bright
4	4.8	Bright
5	4.8	Bright
6	4.8	Bright
7	4.8	Bright
8	4.8	Bright
9	4.7	Bright
10	4.7	Bright
11	4.7	Bright
12	4.7	Bright
13	4.7	Bright
14	4.6	Bright
15	4.6	Bright
16	4.6	Bright
17	4.6	Bright
18	4.5	Bright
19	4.5	Bright
20	4.5	Bright
21	4.5	Bright
22	4.5	Bright
23	4.5	Bright
24	4.4	Bright
25	4.4	Bright
26	4.4	Bright
27	4.4	Bright
28	4.4	Bright
29	4.3	Bright
30	4.3	Bright
31	4.3	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Palapye?

Our two travel scores rate May for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

9.0

Sightseeing

4th-best month of the year

8.2

Beach & pool

4th-best month of the year

May is one of the better times to visit Palapye for general sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Palapye in May

From May's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In May, Palapye sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 11°C. Worth packing: light clothes and sun protection.

light clothessun protection

UV index in Palapye in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 7 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Palapye peaks around January 16 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 18 at about 6 (high).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	14	14	13	9	7	6	7	8	10	11	13	14
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High	High	High	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	14	Extreme
Feb	14	Extreme
Mar	13	Extreme
Apr	9	Very high
May	7	High
Jun	6	High
Jul	7	High
Aug	8	Very high
Sep	10	Very high
Oct	11	Extreme
Nov	13	Extreme
Dec	14	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Palapye?

Palapye sits at 22.5°S, 27.1°E, 926 m above sea level, in Botswana. The nearest listed city is Serowe, 46 km away.

Topography around Palapye

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Palapye.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Palapye has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 36 m around an average of 923 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 189 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 575 m.

The land around Palapye is covered by artificial surfaces (45%) and shrubs (41%) within 3 km, shrubs (70%) within 16 km, and shrubs (81%) within 80 km.

3 km

36 m

artificial surfaces 45%

16 km

189 m

shrubs 70%

80 km

575 m

shrubs 81%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain

← April Palapye year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

May weather nearby: Serowe 46 km · Mahalapye 70 km · Selebi-Phikwe 97 km · Tonota 128 km · Marapong 133 km · Lephalale 140 km · Bobonong 150 km · Francistown 158 km

Botswana travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type D / G / M; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 38% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $7,778; 2025
Happiness: 3.5 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 63%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 11.4; per 100k, 2021
Road deaths: 26.4; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Upper middle; World Bank
Religion

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Palapye (-22.5461°, 27.1251°, elevation 926 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	27	13
2	27	13
3	27	13
4	27	13
5	27	13
6	27	12
7	27	12
8	26	12
9	26	12
10	26	12
11	26	12
12	26	12
13	26	11
14	26	11
15	26	11
16	26	11
17	26	11
18	25	11
19	25	11
20	25	10
21	25	10
22	25	10
23	25	10
24	25	10
25	25	10
26	25	9
27	25	9
28	25	9
29	24	9
30	24	9
31	24	9

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	86	14
2	86	14
3	87	13
4	88	12
5	89	11
6	89	11
7	90	10
8	90	10
9	91	9
10	90	10
11	90	10
12	90	10
13	90	10
14	90	10
15	90	10
16	89	11
17	89	11
18	90	10
19	90	10
20	89	11
21	89	11
22	90	10
23	90	10
24	90	10
25	90	10
26	91	9
27	91	9
28	91	9
29	91	9
30	91	9
31	91	9

	Rain chance (%)
1	6
2	6
3	6
4	5
5	5
6	5
7	4
8	4
9	4
10	4
11	4
12	3
13	3
14	3
15	3
16	3
17	3
18	3
19	3
20	3
21	3
22	3
23	3
24	3
25	3
26	3
27	3
28	3
29	3
30	3
31	4

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	79	17	4
2	82	15	3
3	83	14	3
4	85	13	2
5	86	12	2
6	87	12	1
7	88	11	1
8	89	10	1
9	91	9	0
10	92	8	0
11	92	8	0
12	93	7	0
13	94	6	0
14	95	5	0
15	95	5	0
16	96	4	0
17	96	4	0
18	97	3	0
19	97	3	0
20	97	3	0
21	97	3	0
22	98	2	0
23	98	2	0
24	98	2	0
25	98	2	0
26	99	1	0
27	99	1	0
28	99	1	0
29	99	1	0
30	99	1	0
31	99	1	0

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	27	13
2	27	13
3	27	13
4	27	13
5	27	13
6	27	12
7	27	12
8	26	12
9	26	12
10	26	12
11	26	12
12	26	12
13	26	11
14	26	11
15	26	11
16	26	11
17	26	11
18	25	11
19	25	11
20	25	10
21	25	10
22	25	10
23	25	10
24	25	10
25	25	10
26	25	9
27	25	9
28	25	9
29	24	9
30	24	9
31	24	9

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	86	14
2	86	14
3	87	13
4	88	12
5	89	11
6	89	11
7	90	10
8	90	10
9	91	9
10	90	10
11	90	10
12	90	10
13	90	10
14	90	10
15	90	10
16	89	11
17	89	11
18	90	10
19	90	10
20	89	11
21	89	11
22	90	10
23	90	10
24	90	10
25	90	10
26	91	9
27	91	9
28	91	9
29	91	9
30	91	9
31	91	9

	Rain chance (%)
1	6
2	6
3	6
4	5
5	5
6	5
7	4
8	4
9	4
10	4
11	4
12	3
13	3
14	3
15	3
16	3
17	3
18	3
19	3
20	3
21	3
22	3
23	3
24	3
25	3
26	3
27	3
28	3
29	3
30	3
31	4

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	79	17	4
2	82	15	3
3	83	14	3
4	85	13	2
5	86	12	2
6	87	12	1
7	88	11	1
8	89	10	1
9	91	9	0
10	92	8	0
11	92	8	0
12	93	7	0
13	94	6	0
14	95	5	0
15	95	5	0
16	96	4	0
17	96	4	0
18	97	3	0
19	97	3	0
20	97	3	0
21	97	3	0
22	98	2	0
23	98	2	0
24	98	2	0
25	98	2	0
26	99	1	0
27	99	1	0
28	99	1	0
29	99	1	0
30	99	1	0
31	99	1	0

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	27	13
2	27	13
3	27	13
4	27	13
5	27	13
6	27	12
7	27	12
8	26	12
9	26	12
10	26	12
11	26	12
12	26	12
13	26	11
14	26	11
15	26	11
16	26	11
17	26	11
18	25	11
19	25	11
20	25	10
21	25	10
22	25	10
23	25	10
24	25	10
25	25	10
26	25	9
27	25	9
28	25	9
29	24	9
30	24	9
31	24	9

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	86	14
2	86	14
3	87	13
4	88	12
5	89	11
6	89	11
7	90	10
8	90	10
9	91	9
10	90	10
11	90	10
12	90	10
13	90	10
14	90	10
15	90	10
16	89	11
17	89	11
18	90	10
19	90	10
20	89	11
21	89	11
22	90	10
23	90	10
24	90	10
25	90	10
26	91	9
27	91	9
28	91	9
29	91	9
30	91	9
31	91	9

	Rain chance (%)
1	6
2	6
3	6
4	5
5	5
6	5
7	4
8	4
9	4
10	4
11	4
12	3
13	3
14	3
15	3
16	3
17	3
18	3
19	3
20	3
21	3
22	3
23	3
24	3
25	3
26	3
27	3
28	3
29	3
30	3
31	4

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	79	17	4
2	82	15	3
3	83	14	3
4	85	13	2
5	86	12	2
6	87	12	1
7	88	11	1
8	89	10	1
9	91	9	0
10	92	8	0
11	92	8	0
12	93	7	0
13	94	6	0
14	95	5	0
15	95	5	0
16	96	4	0
17	96	4	0
18	97	3	0
19	97	3	0
20	97	3	0
21	97	3	0
22	98	2	0
23	98	2	0
24	98	2	0
25	98	2	0
26	99	1	0
27	99	1	0
28	99	1	0
29	99	1	0
30	99	1	0
31	99	1	0