Basotu weather in May

In May, Basotu sees average daytime highs of 25°C and overnight lows near 15°C, with 34 mm of rain across 6 wet days and about 11.8 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 7th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 25°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time in May, and the air most often feels comfortable.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 48 min at the start of May to 11 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Basotu's 4th-clearest and 5th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Basotu's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 25°; 10th warmest
Overnight low: 15°; 5th coldest
Rainfall: 34 mm; 6 wet days
Daylight: 11 h 48 min; 6:42 AM – 6:30 PM
Cloud cover: 52%; 4th clearest
Wind: 14 km/h; 5th windiest
Solar energy: 5.74 kWh/m²
Travel score: 7.7; out of 10

← April Basotu 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

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 25°C through the month.

A typical May day in Basotu reaches about 25°C in the afternoon and slips back to 15°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 26°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs on par with April and on par with 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)	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25
Avg low (°C)	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	14	14	14	14	14

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

Basotu weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 10th-warmest and 7th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	25° / 16°	233	18.5	12.2	5.4
Feb	26° / 16°	170	14.8	12.1	5.6
Mar	26° / 16°	238	18.8	12	5.4
Apr	25° / 16°	168	14.9	11.9	6.0
May	25° / 15°	34	6	11.8	7.7
Jun	25° / 14°	5	1.1	11.8	8.3
Jul	24° / 13°	1	0.2	11.8	8.6
Aug	25° / 13°	2	0.3	11.9	8.4
Sep	27° / 14°	3	0.7	12	8.1
Oct	28° / 16°	20	3.1	12.1	7.4
Nov	27° / 16°	119	10.5	12.2	6.3
Dec	26° / 16°	273	18.5	12.2	5.4

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 28% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 38%. 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 (%)	48	49	49	51	52	52	54	56	56	58	59	61	61	62	64	65	65	66	67	67	68	68	68	68	69	69	69	70	70	69	69
Cloudier (%)	52	51	51	49	48	48	46	44	44	42	41	39	39	38	36	35	35	34	33	33	32	32	32	32	31	31	31	30	30	31	31

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	48	52
2	49	51
3	49	51
4	51	49
5	52	48
6	52	48
7	54	46
8	56	44
9	56	44
10	58	42
11	59	41
12	61	39
13	61	39
14	62	38
15	64	36
16	65	35
17	65	35
18	66	34
19	67	33
20	67	33
21	68	32
22	68	32
23	68	32
24	68	32
25	69	31
26	69	31
27	69	31
28	70	30
29	70	30
30	69	31
31	69	31

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Basotu gets around 34 mm of rain over 6 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 19% and peaks near 34% on the wettest days. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

	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 (%)	34	33	32	32	31	30	29	29	28	27	25	24	23	21	20	19	17	16	15	13	12	11	11	10	9	9	9	8	8	8	8

	Rain chance (%)
1	34
2	33
3	32
4	32
5	31
6	30
7	29
8	29
9	28
10	27
11	25
12	24
13	23
14	21
15	20
16	19
17	17
18	16
19	15
20	13
21	12
22	11
23	11
24	10
25	9
26	9
27	9
28	8
29	8
30	8
31	8

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, May lands in the comfortable band about 51% 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 (%)	13	14	15	16	17	19	20	22	24	26	29	32	34	37	39	42	45	47	50	53	56	58	60	62	64	67	68	70	72	74	76
Comfortable (%)	72	72	71	71	70	69	68	67	65	64	62	59	58	56	55	52	50	48	46	44	42	40	39	37	35	33	32	30	28	26	24
Humid (%)	15	14	14	13	13	12	12	11	11	10	9	9	8	7	6	6	5	4	4	3	2	2	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	13	72	15
2	14	72	14
3	15	71	14
4	16	71	13
5	17	70	13
6	19	69	12
7	20	68	12
8	22	67	11
9	24	65	11
10	26	64	10
11	29	62	9
12	32	59	9
13	34	58	8
14	37	56	7
15	39	55	6
16	42	52	6
17	45	50	5
18	47	48	4
19	50	46	4
20	53	44	3
21	56	42	2
22	58	40	2
23	60	39	1
24	62	37	1
25	64	35	1
26	67	33	0
27	68	32	0
28	70	30	0
29	72	28	0
30	74	26	0
31	76	24	0

Wind in May

Winds average 14 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 13 km/h on the calmest days to 14 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)	13	13	13	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

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

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 48 min at the start of May to 11 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 0 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 6:41 AM to 6:44 AM, and sunset from 6:32 PM to 6:30 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)	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8
Sunrise (AM)	6:41	6:41	6:41	6:41	6:41	6:41	6:41	6:41	6:41	6:41	6:41	6:42	6:42	6:42	6:42	6:42	6:42	6:42	6:42	6:42	6:42	6:43	6:43	6:43	6:43	6:43	6:43	6:43	6:44	6:44	6:44
Sunset (PM)	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:31	6:31	6:31	6:31	6:31	6:31	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.8	6:41	6:32
2	11.8	6:41	6:32
3	11.8	6:41	6:32
4	11.8	6:41	6:32
5	11.8	6:41	6:31
6	11.8	6:41	6:31
7	11.8	6:41	6:31
8	11.8	6:41	6:31
9	11.8	6:41	6:31
10	11.8	6:41	6:31
11	11.8	6:41	6:30
12	11.8	6:42	6:30
13	11.8	6:42	6:30
14	11.8	6:42	6:30
15	11.8	6:42	6:30
16	11.8	6:42	6:30
17	11.8	6:42	6:30
18	11.8	6:42	6:30
19	11.8	6:42	6:30
20	11.8	6:42	6:30
21	11.8	6:42	6:30
22	11.8	6:43	6:30
23	11.8	6:43	6:30
24	11.8	6:43	6:30
25	11.8	6:43	6:30
26	11.8	6:43	6:30
27	11.8	6:43	6:30
28	11.8	6:43	6:30
29	11.8	6:44	6:30
30	11.8	6:44	6:30
31	11.8	6:44	6:30

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.74 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

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 — May's 5.74 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)	5.8	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8
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	5.8	Bright
2	5.8	Bright
3	5.7	Bright
4	5.7	Bright
5	5.7	Bright
6	5.7	Bright
7	5.7	Bright
8	5.7	Bright
9	5.7	Bright
10	5.7	Bright
11	5.7	Bright
12	5.7	Bright
13	5.7	Bright
14	5.7	Bright
15	5.7	Bright
16	5.7	Bright
17	5.8	Bright
18	5.8	Bright
19	5.8	Bright
20	5.8	Bright
21	5.8	Bright
22	5.8	Bright
23	5.8	Bright
24	5.8	Bright
25	5.8	Bright
26	5.8	Bright
27	5.8	Bright
28	5.8	Bright
29	5.8	Bright
30	5.8	Bright
31	5.8	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Hazard calendar for Basotu

In seasonPeak

None of Basotu's seasonal hazards are active in May. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do peak.

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 May a good time to visit Basotu?

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

7.7

Sightseeing

5th-best month of the year

6.7

Beach & pool

6th-best month of the year

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

What to pack for Basotu in May

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

In May, Basotu sees daytime highs around 25°C and nights near 15°C. Worth packing: light clothes and sun protection. About 6 days see rain.

light clothessun protection

UV index in Basotu in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 12 (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.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	14	16	16	15	12	10	11	12	14	15	14	13
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	14	Extreme
Feb	16	Extreme
Mar	16	Extreme
Apr	15	Extreme
May	12	Extreme
Jun	10	Extreme
Jul	11	Extreme
Aug	12	Extreme
Sep	14	Extreme
Oct	15	Extreme
Nov	14	Extreme
Dec	13	Extreme

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

water 35%

16 km

274 m

cropland 59%

80 km

2,357 m

cropland 42%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater

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

May 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

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).

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	48	52
2	49	51
3	49	51
4	51	49
5	52	48
6	52	48
7	54	46
8	56	44
9	56	44
10	58	42
11	59	41
12	61	39
13	61	39
14	62	38
15	64	36
16	65	35
17	65	35
18	66	34
19	67	33
20	67	33
21	68	32
22	68	32
23	68	32
24	68	32
25	69	31
26	69	31
27	69	31
28	70	30
29	70	30
30	69	31
31	69	31

	Rain chance (%)
1	34
2	33
3	32
4	32
5	31
6	30
7	29
8	29
9	28
10	27
11	25
12	24
13	23
14	21
15	20
16	19
17	17
18	16
19	15
20	13
21	12
22	11
23	11
24	10
25	9
26	9
27	9
28	8
29	8
30	8
31	8

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	13	72	15
2	14	72	14
3	15	71	14
4	16	71	13
5	17	70	13
6	19	69	12
7	20	68	12
8	22	67	11
9	24	65	11
10	26	64	10
11	29	62	9
12	32	59	9
13	34	58	8
14	37	56	7
15	39	55	6
16	42	52	6
17	45	50	5
18	47	48	4
19	50	46	4
20	53	44	3
21	56	42	2
22	58	40	2
23	60	39	1
24	62	37	1
25	64	35	1
26	67	33	0
27	68	32	0
28	70	30	0
29	72	28	0
30	74	26	0
31	76	24	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	48	52
2	49	51
3	49	51
4	51	49
5	52	48
6	52	48
7	54	46
8	56	44
9	56	44
10	58	42
11	59	41
12	61	39
13	61	39
14	62	38
15	64	36
16	65	35
17	65	35
18	66	34
19	67	33
20	67	33
21	68	32
22	68	32
23	68	32
24	68	32
25	69	31
26	69	31
27	69	31
28	70	30
29	70	30
30	69	31
31	69	31

	Rain chance (%)
1	34
2	33
3	32
4	32
5	31
6	30
7	29
8	29
9	28
10	27
11	25
12	24
13	23
14	21
15	20
16	19
17	17
18	16
19	15
20	13
21	12
22	11
23	11
24	10
25	9
26	9
27	9
28	8
29	8
30	8
31	8

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	13	72	15
2	14	72	14
3	15	71	14
4	16	71	13
5	17	70	13
6	19	69	12
7	20	68	12
8	22	67	11
9	24	65	11
10	26	64	10
11	29	62	9
12	32	59	9
13	34	58	8
14	37	56	7
15	39	55	6
16	42	52	6
17	45	50	5
18	47	48	4
19	50	46	4
20	53	44	3
21	56	42	2
22	58	40	2
23	60	39	1
24	62	37	1
25	64	35	1
26	67	33	0
27	68	32	0
28	70	30	0
29	72	28	0
30	74	26	0
31	76	24	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	48	52
2	49	51
3	49	51
4	51	49
5	52	48
6	52	48
7	54	46
8	56	44
9	56	44
10	58	42
11	59	41
12	61	39
13	61	39
14	62	38
15	64	36
16	65	35
17	65	35
18	66	34
19	67	33
20	67	33
21	68	32
22	68	32
23	68	32
24	68	32
25	69	31
26	69	31
27	69	31
28	70	30
29	70	30
30	69	31
31	69	31

	Rain chance (%)
1	34
2	33
3	32
4	32
5	31
6	30
7	29
8	29
9	28
10	27
11	25
12	24
13	23
14	21
15	20
16	19
17	17
18	16
19	15
20	13
21	12
22	11
23	11
24	10
25	9
26	9
27	9
28	8
29	8
30	8
31	8

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	13	72	15
2	14	72	14
3	15	71	14
4	16	71	13
5	17	70	13
6	19	69	12
7	20	68	12
8	22	67	11
9	24	65	11
10	26	64	10
11	29	62	9
12	32	59	9
13	34	58	8
14	37	56	7
15	39	55	6
16	42	52	6
17	45	50	5
18	47	48	4
19	50	46	4
20	53	44	3
21	56	42	2
22	58	40	2
23	60	39	1
24	62	37	1
25	64	35	1
26	67	33	0
27	68	32	0
28	70	30	0
29	72	28	0
30	74	26	0
31	76	24	0