Climate and average weather in Kilwa Masoko

In Kilwa Masoko, the weather is muggy, hot, wet, and partly cloudy and remarkably steady, with daytime highs holding near hot levels all year. The wettest stretch peaks around March.

Best: late May to late October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Kilwa Masoko typically varies from 22°C to 29°C, and is rarely below 22°C or above 31°C. February is the hottest month of the year, while August is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Kilwa Masoko for warm-weather activities is from late May to late October.

Hottest
Feb
29°
Coldest
Aug
22°
Wettest
Mar
187 mm
Driest
Jul
6 mm
Rain / yr
867 mm
134 wet days
Daylight
11.5–12.5 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
23 m
8.9°S
Clearest
Sep
28% cloud

Kilwa Masoko is human settlement.

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

Kilwa Masoko 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 late May to late October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

Temperatures in Kilwa Masoko stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is February, with an average high of 29°C and low of 26°C; the coolest is August, with an average low of 22°C and high of 27°C.

Days typically run about 4°C warmer than nights year-round.

20°25°30°35°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2926
Feb2926
Mar2925
Apr2925
May2824
Jun2823
Jul2723
Aug2722
Sep2723
Oct2824
Nov2925
Dec2926

How hot and cold Kilwa Masoko 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, Kilwa Masoko feels like about 35°C (around March 5). About 163 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in March.

20°25°30°35°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan34292626
Feb34292626
Mar34292525
Apr33292525
May31282424
Jun30282323
Jul29272323
Aug29272222
Sep29272323
Oct30282424
Nov32292525
Dec34292626

Average hourly temperature in Kilwa Masoko

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 February afternoons, near 29°C, and coldest before dawn in August, near 22°C.

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

Kilwa Masoko 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° / 26°11216.512.54.5
Feb29° / 26°10915.112.34.4
Mar29° / 25°18723.812.13.8
Apr29° / 25°17621.611.84.2
May28° / 24°619.611.66.1
Jun28° / 23°132.711.57.5
Jul27° / 23°61.311.58.1
Aug27° / 22°71.911.78.2
Sep27° / 23°103.111.98.0
Oct28° / 24°256.312.27.1
Nov29° / 25°5213.712.45.4
Dec29° / 26°10818.612.54.5

Chance of rain

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

Kilwa Masoko gets about 867 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 6.1 months, from around Nov 5 to May 10, peaking in March at about 81% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jul 18.

March is the wettest month by volume, with 187 mm over about 24 wet days; July is the driest, with 6 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetMar 28 · 81%Jul 18 · 4%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan5417
Feb5615
Mar7524
Apr7122
May3210
Jun93
Jul51
Aug62
Sep103
Oct226
Nov4514
Dec5919

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Kilwa Masoko collects about 867 mm of rain across 134 wet days — roughly 72 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. March is the wettest month with 187 mm, while July is the driest at just 6 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 55% of the year’s total.

050100150200JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec112109187176611367102552108
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan11217
Feb10915
Mar18724
Apr17622
May6110
Jun133
Jul61
Aug72
Sep103
Oct256
Nov5214
Dec10819

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Kilwa Masoko, 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 8 and lasts for 7.0 months, ending around December 5. The clearest month is September, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 93% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around December 6 and lasts for 5.0 months, ending around May 7. The cloudiest month is February, 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 · 94%Mar 3 · 36%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4258
Feb3763
Mar3763
Apr5050
May7426
Jun8317
Jul8416
Aug8911
Sep937
Oct8911
Nov7723
Dec6139

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 30 min of light; the shortest, around May 25, only 11 h 30 min — a swing of roughly 1 hour.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan12.56:176:45
Feb12.36:286:45
Mar12.16:306:33
Apr11.86:286:16
May11.66:306:06
Jun11.56:386:07
Jul11.56:426:13
Aug11.76:356:17
Sep11.96:186:15
Oct12.26:016:13
Nov12.45:556:20
Dec12.56:036:34

Sunny days

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

Kilwa Masoko averages about 16 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 6 and 25 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.6 months, from around May 10 to Nov 26. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 25 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is February, down near 6 sunny days — about 75% fewer than the September peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantSep 1825 daysFeb 116 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan8Gloomy
Feb6Gloomy
Mar7Gloomy
Apr9Mixed
May18Bright
Jun20Bright
Jul21Bright
Aug22Bright
Sep24Brilliant
Oct23Bright
Nov17Bright
Dec13Mixed

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.

Kilwa Masoko is humid all year round — on a typical day the air feels at least humid, and there is no real dry season to wait for.

The stickiest month is January, when it feels muggy, oppressive or miserable about 100% of the time. Even in July, the mildest month, the air is dry or comfortable only 1% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecmiserableoppressivemuggyhumid
Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan0005941
Feb0005446
Mar0003664
Apr0026137
May0220744
Jun11361260
Jul1217340
Aug088750
Sep0178210
Oct0035650
Nov006887
Dec0006337

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 Kilwa Masoko is typically light breeze, near 15 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 4.9 months, from around Apr 23 to Sep 17. The windiest month is July, averaging about 19 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Jan 28 to Apr 22, with March the calmest month at about 10 km/h.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezebreezyJul 8 · 20 km/hMar 18 · 10 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan15light breeze
Feb13light breeze
Mar10calm
Apr14light breeze
May17light breeze
Jun19light breeze
Jul19light breeze
Aug17light breeze
Sep15light breeze
Oct14light breeze
Nov13light breeze
Dec13light breeze

Hazard calendar for Kilwa Masoko

In seasonPeak

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

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

Kilwa Masoko'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

Best time to visit Kilwa Masoko

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid October, Kilwa Masoko 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 Kilwa Masoko for general outdoor tourist activities is from late May to late October, with a peak score in the third week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 21 · 8.2

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
Jan4.5fair
Feb4.4fair
Mar3.8fair
Apr4.2fair
May6.1good
Jun7.5ideal
Jul8.1ideal
Aug8.2ideal
Sep8.0ideal
Oct7.0good
Nov5.4fair
Dec4.5fair

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 Kilwa Masoko for hot-weather activities is from mid May to mid November, with a peak score in the third week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 18 · 8.5

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 Kilwa Masoko, 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.

Kilwa Masoko packs about the same all year — highs hold near 29°C. Across the year the things worth having are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In February, Kilwa Masoko sees daytime highs around 29°C and nights near 26°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 15 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Kilwa Masoko

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 13 km away) is warmest in March at about 29°C and coldest in August near 26°C.

The water stays above 20°C all year — warm enough for a swim any month.

24°26°28°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan29Tropical
Feb29Tropical
Mar29Tropical
Apr29Tropical
May28Tropical
Jun27Warm
Jul26Warm
Aug26Warm
Sep26Warm
Oct27Warm
Nov28Warm
Dec29Tropical

UV index (midday) in Kilwa Masoko 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 Kilwa Masoko peaks around March 15 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 22 at about 10 (very high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highExtremeMar 15UV 15Jun 22UV 10
UV index (midday)Level
Jan13Extreme
Feb14Extreme
Mar15Extreme
Apr13Extreme
May10Extreme
Jun10Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug11Extreme
Sep12Extreme
Oct13Extreme
Nov13Extreme
Dec13Extreme

Average hourly UV index in Kilwa Masoko

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 6.5 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
Feb86.5
Mar8.56.5
Apr7.56
May7.55
Jun74.5
Jul75
Aug7.55.5
Sep86
Oct86
Nov86
Dec8.56.5

Air quality in Kilwa Masoko 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 Kilwa Masoko is worst in January — around 15 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.0× the cleanest month (November, 8 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateGoodJan 2015 µg/m³Apr 228 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan15Moderate
Feb13Moderate
Mar9Good
Apr8Good
May8Good
Jun8Good
Jul10Good
Aug10Good
Sep9Good
Oct10Good
Nov8Good
Dec9Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Kilwa Masoko 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. Kilwa Masoko banks about 5,951 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around February.

02,0004,0006,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan544
Feb492
Mar534
Apr502
May507
Jun468
Jul464
Aug458
Sep453
Oct492
Nov502
Dec537

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.

Kilwa Masoko receives about 5.6 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.9 and 6.5 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Aug 22 to Feb 25. The brightest month is October, averaging about 6.4 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is April, down near 4.9 kWh/m² — roughly 23% less than the October peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbrighterdimmerbrighterdimmoderatebrightintenseOct 266.5 kWhApr 134.9 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan5.7Bright
Feb5.7Bright
Mar5.3Bright
Apr4.9Bright
May5.0Bright
Jun5.0Bright
Jul5.0Bright
Aug5.5Bright
Sep6.1Intense
Oct6.5Intense
Nov6.4Intense
Dec6.0Intense

Where is Kilwa Masoko?

Kilwa Masoko sits at 8.9°S, 39.5°E, 23 m above sea level, in Tanzania. The nearest listed city is Kilindoni, 114 km away.

KilindoniLindiIkwiririRuangwaKibitiBunguNyangaoMtwara

Topography around Kilwa Masoko

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kilwa Masoko has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 20 m around an average of 5 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 114 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 559 m.

The land around Kilwa Masoko is covered by water (45%) and grassland (31%) within 3 km, water (57%) within 16 km, and water (42%) and trees (37%) within 80 km.

3 km
20 m
16 km
114 m
80 km
559 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetlandmangroves
Nearby: Kilindoni 114 km · Lindi 121 km · Ikwiriri 123 km · Ruangwa 142 km · Kibiti 148 km · Bungu 152 km · Nyangao 159 km · Mtwara 166 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 Kilwa Masoko (-8.9251°, 39.5131°, elevation 23 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). Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).