Climate and average weather in Katima Mulilo

In Katima Mulilo, the summers are sweltering, fairly dry, and mostly clear and the winters are warm and clear.

Best: early May to mid August

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Katima Mulilo typically varies from 11°C to 35°C, and is rarely below 8°C or above 38°C. October is the hottest month of the year, while July is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Katima Mulilo for warm-weather activities is from early May to mid August.

Hottest
Oct
35°
Coldest
Jul
11°
Wettest
Jan
198 mm
Driest
Aug
0 mm
Rain / yr
731 mm
92 wet days
Daylight
11.0–13.0 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
951 m
17.5°S
Clearest
Aug
11% cloud

Katima Mulilo is town in Zambezi Region, Namibia.

Density
1,006/km²
people per km²
Founded
1935

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

Katima Mulilo 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 early May to mid August.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 2.2 months, from September 12 to November 16, with daily high temperatures above 32°C. The hottest month of the year in Katima Mulilo is October, with an average high of 35°C and low of 21°C.

The cool season lasts 2.1 months, from May 30 to July 31, with daily high temperatures below 27°C. The coldest month of the year in Katima Mulilo is July, with an average low of 11°C and high of 25°C.

Days typically run about 12°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)
Jan3021
Feb2920
Mar3020
Apr3018
May2814
Jun2612
Jul2511
Aug2914
Sep3318
Oct3521
Nov3321
Dec3021

How hot and cold Katima Mulilo 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, Katima Mulilo feels like about 35°C (around October 11). About 73 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in October.

10°15°20°25°30°35°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan31302121
Feb31292020
Mar31302020
Apr30301818
May28281414
Jun26261212
Jul25251111
Aug29291414
Sep33331818
Oct35352121
Nov33332121
Dec31302121

Average hourly temperature in Katima Mulilo

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 October afternoons, near 35°C, and coldest before dawn in July, near 11°C.

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

Katima Mulilo 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
Jan30° / 21°1982112.93.8
Feb29° / 20°16017.612.64.1
Mar30° / 20°961312.14.8
Apr30° / 18°202.911.66.4
May28° / 14°10.311.28.2
Jun26° / 12°10.2119.2
Jul25° / 11°0011.19.3
Aug29° / 14°0011.47.6
Sep33° / 18°20.311.94.8
Oct35° / 21°123.312.43.2
Nov33° / 21°8113.112.83.4
Dec30° / 21°16020.4133.6

Chance of rain

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

Katima Mulilo gets about 731 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is some rain, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 5.0 months, from around Nov 1 to Apr 1, peaking in January at about 71% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jun 23.

January is the wettest month by volume, with 198 mm over about 21 wet days; August is the driest, with 0 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJan 20 · 71%Jun 23 · 0%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan6821
Feb6318
Mar4113
Apr113
May10
Jun10
Jul00
Aug00
Sep10
Oct113
Nov4313
Dec6420

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Katima Mulilo collects about 731 mm of rain across 92 wet days — roughly 61 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. January is the wettest month with 198 mm, while August is the driest at just 0 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 71% of the year’s total.

050100150200250JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec198160962011021281160
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan19821
Feb16018
Mar9613
Apr203
May10
Jun10
Jul00
Aug00
Sep20
Oct123
Nov8113
Dec16020

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Katima Mulilo, 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 4 and lasts for 6.8 months, ending around October 27. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 95% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 28 and lasts for 5.2 months, ending around April 3. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 72% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecAug 28 · 96%Jan 21 · 26%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan2872
Feb3961
Mar5545
Apr8218
May946
Jun937
Jul928
Aug955
Sep928
Oct8119
Nov4753
Dec3070

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 hours of light; the shortest, around May 30, only 11 hours — a swing of roughly 2 hours.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan12.96:047:00
Feb12.66:206:55
Mar12.16:296:36
Apr11.66:356:11
May11.26:445:55
Jun11.06:545:52
Jul11.16:576:00
Aug11.46:456:09
Sep11.96:206:14
Oct12.45:566:20
Nov12.85:436:33
Dec13.05:486:50

Sunny days

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

Katima Mulilo averages about 17 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 4 and 28 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.5 months, from around Apr 8 to Oct 22. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 27 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is December, down near 5 sunny days — about 82% fewer than the August peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantAug 2828 daysDec 314 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan5Gloomy
Feb6Gloomy
Mar12Mixed
Apr20Bright
May25Brilliant
Jun25Brilliant
Jul26Brilliant
Aug28Brilliant
Sep25Brilliant
Oct20Bright
Nov8Mixed
Dec5Gloomy

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 Katima Mulilo, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 5.2 months, from around November 7 to April 13. The muggiest month is January, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 96% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around April 14 to November 6, and May is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 98% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 25 · 100%Jan 24 · 3%muggycomfortabledryhumidhumidcomfortablehumid
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan0415783
Feb1417762
Mar41226571
Apr362823130
May899200
Jun991000
Jul1000000
Aug1000000
Sep982000
Oct7714810
Nov242031260
Dec2723671

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 Katima Mulilo is typically calm, near 9 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 5.0 months, from around Jun 10 to Nov 8. The windiest month is October, averaging about 11 km/h (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Nov 9 to Jun 9, with February the calmest month at about 8 km/h.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezeOct 3 · 12 km/hFeb 1 · 8 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan8calm
Feb8calm
Mar8calm
Apr9calm
May9calm
Jun9calm
Jul10calm
Aug10calm
Sep11calm
Oct11calm
Nov9calm
Dec8calm

Hazard calendar for Katima Mulilo

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Katima Mulilo's monsoon runs December–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Best time to visit Katima Mulilo

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid May, Katima Mulilo 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 Katima Mulilo for general outdoor tourist activities is from early May to mid August, with a peak score in the third week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 15 · 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
Jan3.8fair
Feb4.1fair
Mar4.8fair
Apr6.4good
May8.2ideal
Jun9.2ideal
Jul9.3ideal
Aug7.6ideal
Sep4.8fair
Oct3.2poor
Nov3.4poor
Dec3.6fair

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Katima Mulilo for hot-weather activities is from early April to late September, with a peak score in the third week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 16 · 9.4

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 Katima Mulilo, 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 October (highs near 35°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around July (highs near 25°C), pack light clothes and sun protection.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In October, Katima Mulilo sees daytime highs around 35°C and nights near 21°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. About 3 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Katima Mulilo 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 Katima Mulilo peaks around January 17 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near July 10 at about 8 (very high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highExtremeJan 17UV 15Jul 10UV 8
UV index (midday)Level
Jan15Extreme
Feb14Extreme
Mar13Extreme
Apr11Extreme
May9Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep10Extreme
Oct11Extreme
Nov14Extreme
Dec13Extreme

Average hourly UV index in Katima Mulilo

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
Mar86.5
Apr7.55
May6.54.5
Jun63.5
Jul6.53.5
Aug74.5
Sep7.55.5
Oct85.5
Nov8.56.5
Dec8.56.5

Air quality in Katima Mulilo by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Katima Mulilo is worst in August — around 39 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 7.2× the cleanest month (December, 5 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModeratePoorModerateGoodAug 1938 µg/m³Dec 196 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb8Good
Mar7Good
Apr6Good
May15Moderate
Jun23Moderate
Jul30Moderate
Aug39Poor
Sep35Moderate
Oct20Moderate
Nov9Good
Dec5Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Katima Mulilo 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. Katima Mulilo banks about 4,967 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around October.

02,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan466
Feb415
Mar457
Apr406
May346
Jun257
Jul254
Aug353
Sep463
Oct561
Nov510
Dec480

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.

Katima Mulilo receives about 5.9 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.8 and 7.2 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 4.9 months, from around Aug 18 to Jan 14. The brightest month is October, averaging about 7.1 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is June, down near 4.8 kWh/m² — roughly 32% less than the October peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmoderatebrightintenseOct 147.2 kWhJun 274.8 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan5.9Bright
Feb5.9Bright
Mar5.8Bright
Apr5.7Bright
May5.3Bright
Jun4.8Bright
Jul5.0Bright
Aug5.9Bright
Sep6.7Intense
Oct7.2Intense
Nov6.6Intense
Dec6.1Intense

Where is Katima Mulilo?

Katima Mulilo sits at 17.5°S, 24.3°E, 951 m above sea level, in Namibia. The nearest listed city is Sesheke, 4.0 km away.

KasaneLivingstoneVictoria Falls

Topography around Katima Mulilo

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Katima Mulilo has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 25 m around an average of 944 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 92 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 165 m.

The land around Katima Mulilo is covered by trees (28%), artificial surfaces (25%) and grassland (20%) within 3 km, shrubs (45%) and trees (34%) within 16 km, and shrubs (43%) and trees (31%) within 80 km.

3 km
25 m
16 km
92 m
80 km
165 m
treesshrubsgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
Nearby: Sesheke 4.0 km · Kasane 99 km · Livingstone 171 km · Victoria Falls 171 km · Senanga 188 km · Kalomo 240 km · Hwange 254 km · Itezhi-Tezhi 272 km

Namibia travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type D / M
220 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 41% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$4,876
2025
Happiness
4.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Homicide rate
11.2
per 100k, 2021
Road deaths
34.8
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Lower middle
World Bank
Religion
Christian 98%unaffiliated 2%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 Katima Mulilo (-17.5047°, 24.2757°, elevation 951 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. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).