Climate and average weather in Selebi-Phikwe

In Selebi-Phikwe, the summers are hot, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are warm and clear.

Best: late April to early September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Selebi-Phikwe typically varies from 8°C to 32°C, and is rarely below 5°C or above 38°C. November is the hottest month of the year, while July is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Selebi-Phikwe for warm-weather activities is from late April to early September.

Hottest
Nov
32°
Coldest
Jul
Wettest
Jan
91 mm
Driest
Aug
1 mm
Rain / yr
387 mm
54 wet days
Daylight
10.7–13.3 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
870 m
22.0°S
Clearest
Aug
17% cloud

Selebi-Phikwe is city.

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

Selebi-Phikwe weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around late April to early September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Selebi-Phikwe, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 6.2 months, from September 15 to March 22, with daily high temperatures above 30°C. The hottest month of the year in Selebi-Phikwe is November, with an average high of 32°C and low of 20°C.

The cool season lasts 1.9 months, from June 3 to July 31, with daily high temperatures below 24°C. The coldest month of the year in Selebi-Phikwe is July, with an average low of 8°C and high of 23°C.

Days typically run about 13°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 15°C) in August.

10°20°30°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan3121
Feb3121
Mar3019
Apr2816
May2612
Jun249
Jul238
Aug2611
Sep3015
Oct3118
Nov3220
Dec3121

How hot and cold Selebi-Phikwe really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Selebi-Phikwe feels like about 32°C (around November 4). About 17 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in November.

10°15°20°25°30°35°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan31312121
Feb31312121
Mar30301919
Apr28281616
May26261112
Jun242479
Jul232368
Aug26261111
Sep30301515
Oct31311818
Nov32322020
Dec31312021

Average hourly temperature in Selebi-Phikwe

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on November afternoons, near 32°C, and coldest before dawn in July, near C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Selebi-Phikwe weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan31° / 21°9110.213.24.4
Feb31° / 21°738.212.84.7
Mar30° / 19°416.412.25.6
Apr28° / 16°143.111.57.3
May26° / 12°51.1118.8
Jun24° / 50.710.79.3
Jul23° / 30.710.89.1
Aug26° / 11°10.211.28.9
Sep30° / 15°71.111.96.7
Oct31° / 18°14312.55.3
Nov32° / 20°508.113.14.4
Dec31° / 21°831113.34.3

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Selebi-Phikwe gets about 387 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is mostly dry, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 5.3 months, from around Oct 29 to Apr 6, peaking in December at about 36% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Aug 13.

January is the wettest month by volume, with 91 mm over about 10 wet days; August is the driest, with 1 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetDec 10 · 36%Aug 13 · 0%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3310
Feb298
Mar216
Apr103
May41
Jun31
Jul21
Aug10
Sep41
Oct103
Nov278
Dec3411

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Selebi-Phikwe collects about 387 mm of rain across 54 wet days — roughly 32 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. January is the wettest month with 91 mm, while August is the driest at just 1 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 64% of the year’s total.

0255075100125JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec9173411455317145083
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan9110
Feb738
Mar416
Apr143
May51
Jun51
Jul31
Aug10
Sep71
Oct143
Nov508
Dec8311

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Selebi-Phikwe, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around April 14 and lasts for 6.3 months, ending around October 21. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 90% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 22 and lasts for 5.7 months, ending around April 13. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 51% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSep 2 · 91%Dec 6 · 47%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan5644
Feb6139
Mar6733
Apr7525
May8911
Jun8812
Jul8614
Aug9010
Sep8713
Oct7723
Nov5743
Dec4951

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around January 1, brings about 13 h 18 min of light; the shortest, around June 2, only 10 h 42 min — a swing of roughly 2 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan13.25:426:54
Feb12.86:016:46
Mar12.26:146:23
Apr11.56:245:54
May11.06:365:33
Jun10.76:495:29
Jul10.86:515:38
Aug11.26:365:50
Sep11.96:075:59
Oct12.55:386:09
Nov13.15:226:26
Dec13.35:256:45

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Selebi-Phikwe averages about 18 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 9 and 26 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.2 months, from around Apr 13 to Oct 18. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 24 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is December, down near 9 sunny days — about 61% fewer than the September peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantSep 326 daysDec 79 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan11Mixed
Feb11Mixed
Mar15Mixed
Apr19Bright
May25Brilliant
Jun24Brilliant
Jul24Brilliant
Aug25Brilliant
Sep24Brilliant
Oct20Bright
Nov12Mixed
Dec10Mixed

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Selebi-Phikwe, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 5.0 months, from around November 9 to April 8. The muggiest month is January, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 65% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around April 9 to November 8, and May is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 99% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 23 · 100%Jan 25 · 34%muggycomfortablehumiddryhumidcomfortablehumid
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan112431322
Feb112732292
Mar193331161
Apr49331530
May918100
Jun982000
Jul1000000
Aug991000
Sep918100
Oct6726700
Nov39292580
Dec152535250

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Selebi-Phikwe is typically light breeze, near 12 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.7 months, from around Aug 17 to Mar 8. The windiest month is October, averaging about 15 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Mar 9 to Aug 16, with May the calmest month at about 10 km/h.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeOct 16 · 15 km/hMay 25 · 10 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan13light breeze
Feb13light breeze
Mar12light breeze
Apr11calm
May10calm
Jun10calm
Jul11calm
Aug12light breeze
Sep14light breeze
Oct15light breeze
Nov14light breeze
Dec13light breeze

Best time to visit Selebi-Phikwe

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Selebi-Phikwe throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around late April, Selebi-Phikwe is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Selebi-Phikwe for general outdoor tourist activities is from late April to early September, with a peak score in the last week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 28 · 9.4

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan4.4fair
Feb4.8fair
Mar5.6good
Apr7.3good
May8.8ideal
Jun9.2ideal
Jul9.1ideal
Aug8.9ideal
Sep6.8good
Oct5.3fair
Nov4.4fair
Dec4.3fair

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Selebi-Phikwe for hot-weather activities run from early March to mid June and again from late July to late October, with a peak score in the first week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 5 · 9.2

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Selebi-Phikwe, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around November (highs near 32°C), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around July (highs near 23°C), pack light clothes.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In November, Selebi-Phikwe sees daytime highs around 32°C and nights near 20°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 8 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Selebi-Phikwe by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Selebi-Phikwe peaks around January 18 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 19 at about 6 (high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highHighVery highExtremeJan 18UV 15Jun 19UV 6
UV index (midday)Level
Jan15Extreme
Feb14Extreme
Mar13Extreme
Apr9Very high
May7Very high
Jun6High
Jul7High
Aug8Very high
Sep9Very high
Oct11Extreme
Nov13Extreme
Dec13Extreme

Average hourly UV index in Selebi-Phikwe

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in January the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 9 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 7 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan97
Feb8.56.5
Mar86
Apr74.5
May63
Jun5.50.5
Jul62
Aug6.53.5
Sep75
Oct85.5
Nov8.56.5
Dec97
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Selebi-Phikwe is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecfrost-free year round
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Selebi-Phikwe banks about 4,452 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around January.

01,0002,0003,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan497
Feb440
Mar451
Apr360
May275
Jun183
Jul176
Aug270
Sep373
Oct462
Nov473
Dec491

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Selebi-Phikwe receives about 5.6 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.0 and 6.7 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.6 months, from around Aug 30 to Mar 19. The brightest month is November, averaging about 6.5 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is June, down near 4.1 kWh/m² — roughly 37% less than the November peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbrighterdimmerbrighterdimmoderatebrightintenseNov 26.7 kWhJun 304.0 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan6.4Intense
Feb6.2Intense
Mar5.7Bright
Apr5.0Bright
May4.6Bright
Jun4.1Bright
Jul4.2Bright
Aug5.1Bright
Sep6.0Intense
Oct6.6Intense
Nov6.5Intense
Dec6.3Intense

Where is Selebi-Phikwe?

Selebi-Phikwe sits at 22.0°S, 27.8°E, 870 m above sea level, in Botswana. The nearest listed city is Bobonong, 61 km away.

BobonongTonotaFrancistownPalapyeSeroweMahalapyeGwandaTutume

Topography around Selebi-Phikwe

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Selebi-Phikwe has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 67 m around an average of 862 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 191 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 633 m.

The land around Selebi-Phikwe is covered by shrubs (45%) and artificial surfaces (29%) within 3 km, shrubs (65%) and trees (20%) within 16 km, and shrubs (79%) within 80 km.

3 km
67 m
16 km
191 m
80 km
633 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
Nearby: Bobonong 61 km · Tonota 72 km · Francistown 96 km · Palapye 97 km · Serowe 125 km · Mahalapye 164 km · Gwanda 167 km · Tutume 185 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
Christian 79%none 15%Badimo 4%other 1%

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 Selebi-Phikwe (-21.979°, 27.843°, elevation 870 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).