Climate and average weather in Dodoma

In Dodoma, the weather is hot, showery, and mostly clear and remarkably steady, with daytime highs holding near hot levels all year. The wettest stretch peaks around January.

Best: mid May to mid September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Dodoma typically varies from 15°C to 32°C, and is rarely below 14°C or above 34°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 Dodoma for warm-weather activities is from mid May to mid September.

Hottest
Nov
32°
Coldest
Jul
15°
Wettest
Jan
105 mm
Driest
Aug
0 mm
Rain / yr
431 mm
60 wet days
Daylight
11.6–12.4 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
1,125 m
6.2°S
Clearest
Sep
34% cloud

Dodoma is city and capital of Tanzania.

Density
297/km²
people per km²
Founded
1906

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

Dodoma 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 mid May to mid September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

Temperatures in Dodoma stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is November, with an average high of 32°C and low of 20°C; the coolest is July, with an average low of 15°C and high of 27°C.

Days typically run about 11°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 13°C) in September.

10°15°20°25°30°35°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2920
Feb2920
Mar2920
Apr2919
May2918
Jun2816
Jul2715
Aug2816
Sep3017
Oct3118
Nov3220
Dec3020

Average hourly temperature in Dodoma

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 15°C.

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

Dodoma 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
Jan29° / 20°10514.512.34.8
Feb29° / 20°8211.612.24.8
Mar29° / 20°8711.9125.0
Apr29° / 19°427.311.95.7
May29° / 18°61.511.76.6
Jun28° / 16°10.111.67.7
Jul27° / 15°00.111.78.3
Aug28° / 16°0011.87.8
Sep30° / 17°00126.7
Oct31° / 18°40.512.15.7
Nov32° / 20°24312.34.9
Dec30° / 20°809.712.44.8

Chance of rain

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

Dodoma gets about 431 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 4.7 months, from around Nov 30 to Apr 22, peaking in January at about 49% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jun 9.

January is the wettest month by volume, with 105 mm over about 15 wet days; August is the driest, with 0 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJan 12 · 49%Jun 9 · 0%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan4615
Feb4212
Mar3812
Apr247
May52
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct21
Nov103
Dec3210

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Dodoma collects about 431 mm of rain across 60 wet days — roughly 36 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. January is the wettest month with 105 mm, while August is the driest at just 0 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 64% of the year’s total.

0255075100125JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec1058287426100042480
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan10515
Feb8212
Mar8712
Apr427
May62
Jun10
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct41
Nov243
Dec8010

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Dodoma, 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 May 23 and lasts for 6.6 months, ending around December 8. The clearest month is September, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 80% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around December 9 and lasts for 5.4 months, ending around May 22. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 63% 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 22 · 82%Jan 16 · 35%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan3763
Feb3763
Mar4654
Apr4852
May5545
Jun6634
Jul6535
Aug6832
Sep8020
Oct7525
Nov6634
Dec5248

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 12 h 24 min of light; the shortest, around June 11, only 11 h 36 min — a swing of roughly 0 h 48 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan12.36:376:56
Feb12.26:466:58
Mar12.06:456:48
Apr11.96:416:33
May11.76:426:25
Jun11.66:486:27
Jul11.76:526:33
Aug11.86:476:35
Sep12.06:326:30
Oct12.16:186:26
Nov12.36:146:31
Dec12.46:236:44

Sunny days

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

Dodoma averages about 11 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 6 and 20 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.3 months, from around May 30 to Dec 7. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 18 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is April, down near 6 sunny days — about 65% fewer than the September peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergloomymixedbrightbrilliantSep 2220 daysApr 266 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan6Gloomy
Feb6Gloomy
Mar8Gloomy
Apr6Gloomy
May9Mixed
Jun12Mixed
Jul15Mixed
Aug15Mixed
Sep18Bright
Oct16Bright
Nov13Mixed
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 Dodoma, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 5.2 months, from around December 1 to May 8. The muggiest month is April, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 78% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around May 9 to November 30, and September is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSep 2 · 100%Apr 1 · 8%muggycomfortabledryhumidhumidcomfortablehumid
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan1213839
Feb2203939
Mar1135631
Apr1226414
May1958221
Jun712810
Jul93700
Aug92800
Sep841600
Oct534240
Nov2256202
Dec6383917

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 Dodoma is typically light breeze, near 14 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 5.6 months, from around Jun 20 to Dec 7. The windiest month is October, averaging about 18 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Dec 8 to Apr 27, with January the calmest month at about 9 km/h.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezyOct 7 · 18 km/hJan 28 · 9 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan9calm
Feb9calm
Mar11calm
Apr13light breeze
May14light breeze
Jun14light breeze
Jul14light breeze
Aug16light breeze
Sep18light breeze
Oct18light breeze
Nov17light breeze
Dec12light breeze

Best time to visit Dodoma

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid September, Dodoma is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

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 Dodoma for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid May to mid September, with a peak score in the second week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 10 · 8.3

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
Jan4.8fair
Feb4.8fair
Mar5.0fair
Apr5.7good
May6.6good
Jun7.7ideal
Jul8.3ideal
Aug7.7ideal
Sep6.7good
Oct5.7good
Nov4.9fair
Dec4.8fair

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 Dodoma for hot-weather activities is from mid April to early December, with a peak score in the first week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 7 · 9.0

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 Dodoma, 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.

Dodoma packs about the same all year — highs hold near 32°C. Across the year the things worth having are light clothes and sun protection.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In November, Dodoma sees daytime highs around 32°C and nights near 20°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. About 3 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Dodoma 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 Dodoma peaks around March 11 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 17 at about 10 (extreme).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeMar 11UV 16Jun 17UV 10
UV index (midday)Level
Jan14Extreme
Feb16Extreme
Mar16Extreme
Apr14Extreme
May11Extreme
Jun10Very high
Jul11Extreme
Aug11Extreme
Sep13Extreme
Oct14Extreme
Nov13Extreme
Dec13Extreme

Average hourly UV index in Dodoma

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 March the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 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)
Jan8.56.5
Feb8.56.5
Mar8.57
Apr86.5
May7.55.5
Jun75
Jul7.55.5
Aug7.55.5
Sep86.5
Oct86.5
Nov86
Dec86.5
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Dodoma 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. Dodoma banks about 5,000 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around November.

02,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan447
Feb406
Mar450
Apr423
May417
Jun359
Jul344
Aug369
Sep396
Oct454
Nov466
Dec470

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.

Dodoma receives about 6.3 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — intense — with a clear seasonal swing between 5.3 and 7.2 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 4.0 months, from around Aug 19 to Dec 19. The brightest month is October, averaging about 7.2 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is May, down near 5.4 kWh/m² — roughly 25% less than the October peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmoderatebrightintenseOct 187.2 kWhMay 145.3 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan6.2Intense
Feb6.5Intense
Mar6.3Intense
Apr5.7Bright
May5.3Bright
Jun5.6Bright
Jul5.8Bright
Aug6.2Intense
Sep7.0Intense
Oct7.2Intense
Nov6.9Intense
Dec6.3Intense

Where is Dodoma?

Dodoma sits at 6.2°S, 35.7°E, 1,125 m above sea level, in Tanzania. The nearest listed city is Mpwapwa, 85 km away.

MpwapwaKibakweKibaigwaManyoniIzaziGeiroKondoaItigi

Topography around Dodoma

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Dodoma has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 195 m around an average of 1,135 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 457 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,336 m.

The land around Dodoma is covered by artificial surfaces (63%) within 3 km, grassland (41%) and shrubs (29%) within 16 km, and grassland (33%), shrubs (31%) and cropland (27%) within 80 km.

3 km
195 m
16 km
457 m
80 km
1,336 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Mpwapwa 85 km · Kibakwe 92 km · Kibaigwa 101 km · Manyoni 111 km · Izazi 114 km · Geiro 125 km · Kondoa 142 km · Itigi 149 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 Dodoma (-6.1722°, 35.7395°, elevation 1,125 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).