Karonga in Summer
In summer (December, January and February), Karonga sees average daytime highs around 28°C and overnight lows near 25°C, with 485 mm of rain over about 61 wet days across the season. It is the warmest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.
Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 28°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 10% of the time across summer, and the air most often feels oppressive.
Summer is Karonga's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. Karonga has little temperature swing across the year, so its calendar seasons blur — the season framing matters less here than for a place with four distinct seasons. For the whole year in context, see Karonga's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 28°C
- warmest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 25°C
- Rainfall
- 485 mm
- 61 wet days
- Avg wind
- 7 km/h
- Travel score
- 4.4
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Karonga in Summer
Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 28°C.
A typical summer day in Karonga reaches about 28°C and drops to 25°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest February.
Karonga weather by month
How the three summer months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28° / 25° | 184 | 23.3 | 12.5 | 4.2 |
| Feb | 28° / 25° | 179 | 20.9 | 12.3 | 4.2 |
| Mar | 27° / 24° | 169 | 21.5 | 12.1 | 4.6 |
| Apr | 27° / 24° | 51 | 9.9 | 11.8 | 6.7 |
| May | 26° / 23° | 6 | 1.5 | 11.6 | 8.6 |
| Jun | 24° / 22° | 2 | 0.8 | 11.4 | 9.1 |
| Jul | 23° / 21° | 3 | 0.8 | 11.5 | 9.1 |
| Aug | 24° / 22° | 1 | 0.2 | 11.7 | 9.4 |
| Sep | 27° / 24° | 0 | 0.1 | 11.9 | 8.9 |
| Oct | 28° / 26° | 3 | 0.8 | 12.2 | 7.7 |
| Nov | 29° / 26° | 32 | 5.7 | 12.5 | 6.1 |
| Dec | 28° / 25° | 121 | 17.2 | 12.6 | 4.7 |
Cloud cover in Summer
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 10% of the time across summer.
Chance of precipitation in Summer
Karonga gets around 485 mm of rain over 61 wet days across summer. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Summer
Most of summer feels oppressive — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Summer
Winds average 7 km/h across summer.
Sunrise & sunset in Summer
Daylight runs from about 12 h 30 min in early December to 12 h 12 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Summer
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across summer, about 5.3 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Karonga
In summer, Karonga overlaps its cyclone and monsoon season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.
Karonga sits in the South Indian Ocean cyclone belt; the season peaks January–March.
Karonga's monsoon runs December–March, when most of the year's rain falls.
Is summer a good time to visit Karonga?
Our two travel scores rate summer for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
summer is a reasonable time to visit Karonga for sightseeing.
What to pack for Karonga in Summer
From summer's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In summer, Karonga sees daytime highs around 28°C and nights near 25°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 61 days see rain.
UV index in Karonga in Summer
Clear-sky midday UV across summer averages around 14 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Karonga peaks around February 22 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 16 at about 9 (very 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 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 13 |
| Level | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | Very high | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14 | Extreme |
| Feb | 15 | Extreme |
| Mar | 15 | Extreme |
| Apr | 13 | Extreme |
| May | 10 | Very high |
| Jun | 9 | Very high |
| Jul | 10 | Very high |
| Aug | 10 | Extreme |
| Sep | 11 | Extreme |
| Oct | 13 | Extreme |
| Nov | 12 | Extreme |
| Dec | 13 | Extreme |
Air quality in Karonga in Summer
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where summer falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in Karonga is worst in October — around 32 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.9× the cleanest month (May, 8 µg/m³).
Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 12 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 23 | 32 | 19 | 9 |
| Level | Good | Moderate | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Good |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12 | Good |
| Feb | 13 | Moderate |
| Mar | 11 | Good |
| Apr | 9 | Good |
| May | 8 | Good |
| Jun | 9 | Good |
| Jul | 12 | Good |
| Aug | 17 | Moderate |
| Sep | 23 | Moderate |
| Oct | 32 | Moderate |
| Nov | 19 | Moderate |
| Dec | 9 | Good |
Where is Karonga?
Karonga sits at 9.9°S, 33.9°E, 486 m above sea level, in Malawi. The nearest listed city is Kyela, 40 km away.
Topography around Karonga
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Karonga.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Karonga has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 17 m around an average of 480 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 433 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,352 m.
The land around Karonga is covered by cropland (40%) and water (24%) within 3 km, water (47%), cropland (23%) and shrubs (20%) within 16 km, and trees (33%), shrubs (23%) and water (23%) within 80 km.
Malawi travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 2
- Exercise Increased Caution
- Power plugs
- Type G
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 53% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $672
- 2025
- Happiness
- 3.3 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 18%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 1.8
- per 100k, 2012
- Road deaths
- 33.4
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- Low
- World Bank
- English
- Low
- EF EPI 465
- 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 Karonga (-9.9333°, 33.9333°, elevation 486 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.