Manafwa in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Manafwa sees average daytime highs around 25°C and overnight lows near 15°C, with 1402 mm of rain over about 75 wet days across the season. It is the warmest season of the year and the 3rd-wettest season.

Over the season highs climb from about 24°C in early December to 26°C by late February. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 12% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels comfortable.

Winter is Manafwa's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Manafwa's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
25°C
warmest season of the year
Avg overnight low
15°C
Rainfall
1402 mm
75 wet days
Avg wind
5 km/h
Travel score
4.3
best season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Manafwa in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Over the season highs climb from about 24°C in early December to 26°C by late February.

A typical winter day in Manafwa reaches about 25°C and drops to 15°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

10°15°20°25°30°DecJanFeb

Manafwa weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan25° / 15°40724.6124.5
Feb26° / 15°31921.9124.5
Mar25° / 16°67728.7123.9
Apr24° / 16°95029.8123.5
May24° / 16°85630.7123.6
Jun23° / 16°48227.212.14.0
Jul23° / 15°24923.5124.6
Aug24° / 16°27626.1124.4
Sep24° / 15°47229.2123.8
Oct24° / 16°77330.7123.6
Nov24° / 15°91729.9123.5
Dec24° / 15°67628.411.94.0

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 12% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Manafwa gets around 1402 mm of rain over 75 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%80%100%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 5 km/h across winter.

0246810DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 54 min in early December to 12 hours by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 5.5 kWh/m².

0246DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Manafwa?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

4.3
Sightseeing
1st-best month of the year
4.0
Beach & pool
1st-best month of the year

winter is a reasonable time to visit Manafwa for sightseeing.

What to pack for Manafwa in Winter

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

In winter, Manafwa sees daytime highs around 25°C and nights near 15°C. Pack rain gear and sun protection. Worth having: light clothes. About 75 days see rain.

rain gearsun protectionlight clothes

UV index in Manafwa in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 14 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Manafwa peaks around March 15 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 18 at about 11 (extreme).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeMar 15UV 16Jun 18UV 11
UV index (midday)Level
Jan15Extreme
Feb15Extreme
Mar16Extreme
Apr14Extreme
May12Extreme
Jun10Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug12Extreme
Sep13Extreme
Oct14Extreme
Nov12Extreme
Dec12Extreme

Air quality in Manafwa in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Manafwa is worst in December — around 83 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

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

0306090JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyDec 1883 µg/m³Aug 2270 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan82Unhealthy
Feb80Unhealthy
Mar79Unhealthy
Apr74Unhealthy
May73Unhealthy
Jun78Unhealthy
Jul74Unhealthy
Aug70Unhealthy
Sep71Unhealthy
Oct75Unhealthy
Nov81Unhealthy
Dec83Unhealthy
Location & terrain

Where is Manafwa?

Manafwa sits at 1.0°N, 34.3°E, 1,203 m above sea level, in Uganda. The nearest listed city is Mbale, 18 km away.

Butaleja

Topography around Manafwa

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Manafwa has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 368 m around an average of 1,250 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,492 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,258 m.

The land around Manafwa is covered by shrubs (48%) and trees (36%) within 3 km, shrubs (43%) and trees (35%) within 16 km, and cropland (36%) and shrubs (24%) within 80 km.

3 km
368 m
16 km
1,492 m
80 km
3,258 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
Winter weather nearby: Mbale 18 km · Budadiri 23 km · Nakaloke 26 km · Tororo 30 km · Sironko 31 km · Malaba 34 km · Malaba 35 km · Butaleja 36 km

Uganda travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 4
Do Not Travel
Power plugs
Type G
240 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 35% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$1,206
2025
Happiness
4.5 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
18%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
9
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
29.4
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Low
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 518
Religion
Protestant 45%Roman Catholic 39%Muslim 14%other 2%

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 Manafwa (0.952°, 34.27°, elevation 1,203 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.