Basotu weather in March

In March, Basotu sees average daytime highs of 26°C and overnight lows near 16°C, with 238 mm of rain across 18.8 wet days and about 12 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 26°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time in March, and the air most often feels humid.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 06 min at the start of March to 12 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, March is Basotu's 9th-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Basotu's year-round climate.

Daytime high
26°
5th warmest
Overnight low
16°
11th coldest
Rainfall
238 mm
18.8 wet days
Daylight
12 hours
6:48 AM – 6:50 PM
Cloud cover
65%
9th clearest
Wind
9 km/h
9th windiest
Solar energy
6.39 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.4
out of 10

Temperature in March

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 26°C through the month.

A typical March day in Basotu reaches about 26°C in the afternoon and slips back to 16°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 23°C and 28°C. Set against its neighbours, March runs on par with February and on par with April.

10°15°20°25°30°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
12616
22616
32616
42616
52616
62616
72616
82616
92616
102616
112616
122616
132616
142616
152616
162616
172616
182616
192616
202616
212616
222616
232616
242616
252516
262516
272516
282516
292516
302516
312516

Basotu weather by month

How March compares with the rest of the year at a glance. March is the 5th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan25° / 16°23318.512.25.4
Feb26° / 16°17014.812.15.6
Mar26° / 16°23818.8125.4
Apr25° / 16°16814.911.96.0
May25° / 15°34611.87.7
Jun25° / 14°51.111.88.3
Jul24° / 13°10.211.88.6
Aug25° / 13°20.311.98.4
Sep27° / 14°30.7128.1
Oct28° / 16°203.112.17.4
Nov27° / 16°11910.512.26.3
Dec26° / 16°27318.512.25.4

Cloud cover in March

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time in March.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 20% of March, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 57%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14060
24060
34060
44159
54258
64258
74258
84357
94357
104357
114456
124456
134456
144555
154654
164654
174654
184555
194555
204555
214555
224456
234456
244456
254357
264357
274258
284159
294159
304060
313961

Chance of precipitation in March

Any precipitation

Basotu gets around 238 mm of rain over 18.8 wet days in March. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 60% and peaks near 66% on the wettest days. The odds climb toward the end of the month.

0%20%40%60%80%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
155
256
357
457
558
658
759
859
959
1059
1159
1258
1358
1458
1558
1658
1758
1858
1959
2059
2160
2260
2361
2462
2563
2663
2764
2865
2965
3065
3166

Humidity in March

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, March lands in the humid band about 47% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
1173943
2173944
3173944
4173944
5163944
6163944
7163945
8163945
9154045
10154045
11154045
12154045
13144145
14144145
15134145
16134245
17124345
18114346
19114346
20104347
2194347
2284348
2384349
2474350
2574251
2664252
2764252
2854154
2954154
3044155
3144056

Wind in March

Winds average 9 km/h in March.

Across March, daily wind ranges from about 8 km/h on the calmest days to 10 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
18calm
28calm
38calm
48calm
58calm
68calm
78calm
88calm
98calm
108calm
119calm
129calm
139calm
149calm
159calm
169calm
179calm
189calm
199calm
209calm
219calm
229calm
239calm
249calm
259calm
269calm
279calm
289calm
299calm
3010calm
3110calm

Sunrise & sunset in March

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 06 min at the start of March to 12 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 6 minutes over March. Sunrise moves from 6:50 AM to 6:46 AM, and sunset from 6:56 PM to 6:44 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
112.16:506:56
212.16:506:55
312.16:506:55
412.16:506:55
512.16:506:54
612.16:506:54
712.16:506:54
812.16:506:53
912.16:496:53
1012.16:496:53
1112.16:496:52
1212.06:496:52
1312.06:496:51
1412.06:496:51
1512.06:496:51
1612.06:486:50
1712.06:486:50
1812.06:486:49
1912.06:486:49
2012.06:486:49
2112.06:486:48
2212.06:476:48
2312.06:476:47
2412.06:476:47
2512.06:476:46
2612.06:476:46
2712.06:466:45
2812.06:466:45
2912.06:466:45
3012.06:466:44
3112.06:466:44

Solar energy in March

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in March, about 6.39 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 5.74 kWh/m² to a high of 7.16 kWh/m² in October across the year — March's 6.39 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
16.6Intense
26.5Intense
36.5Intense
46.5Intense
56.5Intense
66.5Intense
76.5Intense
86.5Intense
96.5Intense
106.5Intense
116.5Intense
126.5Intense
136.5Intense
146.5Intense
156.5Intense
166.5Intense
176.5Intense
186.4Intense
196.4Intense
206.4Intense
216.4Intense
226.3Intense
236.3Intense
246.3Intense
256.3Intense
266.2Intense
276.2Intense
286.2Intense
296.2Intense
306.2Intense
316.1Intense
Planning a trip in March

Hazard calendar for Basotu

In seasonPeak

In March, Basotu sits inside its cyclone and monsoon season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Basotu sits in the South Indian Ocean cyclone belt; the season peaks January–March.

Basotu's monsoon runs December–April, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Is March a good time to visit Basotu?

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

5.4
Sightseeing
10th-best month of the year
5.1
Beach & pool
10th-best month of the year

March is a reasonable time to visit Basotu for sightseeing.

What to pack for Basotu in March

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

In March, Basotu sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 16°C. Pack rain gear and sun protection. Worth having: light clothes. About 19 days see rain.

rain gearsun protectionlight clothes

UV index in Basotu in March

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in March peaks around 16 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Basotu peaks around March 14 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 17 at about 11 (extreme).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeMar 14UV 16Jun 17UV 11
UV index (midday)Level
Jan14Extreme
Feb16Extreme
Mar16Extreme
Apr15Extreme
May12Extreme
Jun10Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug12Extreme
Sep14Extreme
Oct15Extreme
Nov14Extreme
Dec13Extreme
Location & terrain

Where is Basotu?

Basotu sits at 4.4°S, 35.1°E, 1,609 m above sea level, in Tanzania. The nearest listed city is Mtinko, 33 km away.

Topography around Basotu

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Basotu has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 60 m around an average of 1,618 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 274 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,357 m.

The land around Basotu is covered by water (35%) and cropland (32%) within 3 km, cropland (59%) within 16 km, and cropland (42%) and shrubs (28%) within 80 km.

3 km
60 m
16 km
274 m
80 km
2,357 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
March weather nearby: Mtinko 33 km · Katesh 38 km · Bashanet 40 km · Ilongero 41 km · Nangwa 42 km · Dongobesh 47 km · Dareda 54 km · Igugunu 55 km

Tanzania travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 3
Reconsider Travel
Power plugs
Type D / G
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 29% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$1,319
2025
Happiness
3.9 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
31%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
3.7
per 100k, 2020
Road deaths
31.1
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Lower middle
World Bank
English
Low
EF EPI 479
Religion
Christian 63%Muslim 34%folk religion 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 Basotu (-4.3667°, 35.0833°, elevation 1,609 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. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). 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).