Choma weather in May

In May, Choma sees average daytime highs of 24°C and overnight lows near 12°C, with 4 mm of rain across 1 wet days and about 11.2 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 24°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 71% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 24 min at the start of May to 11 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Choma's 5th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Choma's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 24°; 10th warmest
Overnight low: 12°; 4th coldest
Rainfall: 4 mm; 1 wet days
Daylight: 11 h 12 min; 6:32 AM – 5:45 PM
Cloud cover: 27%; 5th clearest
Wind: 10 km/h; 8th windiest
Solar energy: 5.11 kWh/m²
Travel score: 9.1; out of 10

Choma is human settlement in Zambia.

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

← April Choma 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 24°C through the month.

A typical May day in Choma reaches about 24°C in the afternoon and slips back to 12°C overnight — a 12°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 22°C and 27°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 1°C cooler than April and about 2°C warmer than 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	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	23	23	23	23	23
Avg low (°C)	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11

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

Choma weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 10th-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	26° / 18°	222	24.3	12.9	4.3
Feb	26° / 18°	175	21.1	12.6	4.5
Mar	26° / 17°	125	17.6	12.1	5.5
Apr	25° / 15°	30	6.8	11.6	7.6
May	24° / 12°	4	1	11.2	9.1
Jun	22° / 10°	1	0.3	11	8.9
Jul	22° / 9°	1	0.4	11.1	8.9
Aug	25° / 12°	0	0	11.4	9.4
Sep	29° / 15°	2	0.4	11.9	7.8
Oct	30° / 18°	15	3.2	12.4	6.0
Nov	29° / 19°	96	13.8	12.8	5.0
Dec	27° / 18°	199	22.8	13	4.5

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 71% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 19% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 10%.

	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 (%)	88	89	89	90	90	90	90	91	91	91	91	91	91	90	90	90	90	90	89	89	89	89	90	90	91	91	91	91	91	91	91
Cloudier (%)	12	11	11	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	9

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	88	12
2	89	11
3	89	11
4	90	10
5	90	10
6	90	10
7	90	10
8	91	9
9	91	9
10	91	9
11	91	9
12	91	9
13	91	9
14	90	10
15	90	10
16	90	10
17	90	10
18	90	10
19	89	11
20	89	11
21	89	11
22	89	11
23	90	10
24	90	10
25	91	9
26	91	9
27	91	9
28	91	9
29	91	9
30	91	9
31	91	9

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Choma gets around 4 mm of rain over 1 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 3% and peaks near 7% on the wettest days.

	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 (%)	7	6	6	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2

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

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, May lands in the dry band about 87% 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 (%)	66	68	71	72	75	77	78	81	82	83	85	87	88	89	90	92	92	93	94	94	94	95	95	95	95	95	96	96	96	96	97
Comfortable (%)	27	26	24	23	21	20	19	17	16	15	14	12	11	10	9	8	8	7	6	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	3
Humid (%)	7	6	5	5	4	3	3	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	66	27	7
2	68	26	6
3	71	24	5
4	72	23	5
5	75	21	4
6	77	20	3
7	78	19	3
8	81	17	2
9	82	16	2
10	83	15	2
11	85	14	1
12	87	12	1
13	88	11	1
14	89	10	1
15	90	9	1
16	92	8	0
17	92	8	0
18	93	7	0
19	94	6	0
20	94	6	0
21	94	6	0
22	95	5	0
23	95	5	0
24	95	5	0
25	95	5	0
26	95	5	0
27	96	4	0
28	96	4	0
29	96	4	0
30	96	4	0
31	97	3	0

Wind in May

Winds average 10 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 10 km/h on the calmest days to 11 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)	11	11	11	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

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

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 24 min at the start of May to 11 h 06 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 18 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 6:27 AM to 6:37 AM, and sunset from 5:51 PM to 5:42 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)	11.4	11.4	11.4	11.4	11.3	11.3	11.3	11.3	11.3	11.3	11.3	11.3	11.3	11.2	11.2	11.2	11.2	11.2	11.2	11.2	11.2	11.2	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1
Sunrise (AM)	6:27	6:27	6:28	6:28	6:28	6:29	6:29	6:29	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:31	6:31	6:31	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:33	6:33	6:34	6:34	6:34	6:35	6:35	6:35	6:36	6:36	6:36	6:37	6:37
Sunset (PM)	5:51	5:51	5:50	5:50	5:49	5:49	5:48	5:48	5:47	5:47	5:47	5:46	5:46	5:45	5:45	5:45	5:44	5:44	5:44	5:44	5:43	5:43	5:43	5:43	5:43	5:42	5:42	5:42	5:42	5:42	5:42

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.4	6:27	5:51
2	11.4	6:27	5:51
3	11.4	6:28	5:50
4	11.4	6:28	5:50
5	11.3	6:28	5:49
6	11.3	6:29	5:49
7	11.3	6:29	5:48
8	11.3	6:29	5:48
9	11.3	6:30	5:47
10	11.3	6:30	5:47
11	11.3	6:30	5:47
12	11.3	6:30	5:46
13	11.3	6:31	5:46
14	11.2	6:31	5:45
15	11.2	6:31	5:45
16	11.2	6:32	5:45
17	11.2	6:32	5:44
18	11.2	6:32	5:44
19	11.2	6:33	5:44
20	11.2	6:33	5:44
21	11.2	6:34	5:43
22	11.2	6:34	5:43
23	11.1	6:34	5:43
24	11.1	6:35	5:43
25	11.1	6:35	5:43
26	11.1	6:35	5:42
27	11.1	6:36	5:42
28	11.1	6:36	5:42
29	11.1	6:36	5:42
30	11.1	6:37	5:42
31	11.1	6:37	5:42

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.11 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.71 kWh/m² to a high of 7.24 kWh/m² in October across the year — May's 5.11 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)	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.9
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	5.4	Bright
2	5.4	Bright
3	5.4	Bright
4	5.3	Bright
5	5.3	Bright
6	5.3	Bright
7	5.3	Bright
8	5.3	Bright
9	5.3	Bright
10	5.2	Bright
11	5.2	Bright
12	5.2	Bright
13	5.2	Bright
14	5.1	Bright
15	5.1	Bright
16	5.1	Bright
17	5.0	Bright
18	5.0	Bright
19	5.0	Bright
20	5.0	Bright
21	5.0	Bright
22	5.0	Bright
23	5.0	Bright
24	4.9	Bright
25	4.9	Bright
26	4.9	Bright
27	4.9	Bright
28	4.9	Bright
29	4.9	Bright
30	4.9	Bright
31	4.9	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Hazard calendar for Choma

In seasonPeak

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

Choma's monsoon runs December–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

Monsoon

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is May a good time to visit Choma?

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

9.1

Sightseeing

2nd-best month of the year

7.6

Beach & pool

4th-best month of the year

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

What to pack for Choma in May

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

In May, Choma sees daytime highs around 24°C and nights near 12°C. Worth packing: light clothes and sun protection.

light clothessun protection

UV index in Choma in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 10 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Choma peaks around January 19 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 23 at about 8 (very high).

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)	17	15	14	11	10	8	8	10	11	12	14	13
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	Very high	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	17	Extreme
Feb	15	Extreme
Mar	14	Extreme
Apr	11	Extreme
May	10	Very high
Jun	8	Very high
Jul	8	Very high
Aug	10	Very high
Sep	11	Extreme
Oct	12	Extreme
Nov	14	Extreme
Dec	13	Extreme

Air quality in Choma in May

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Choma is worst in September — around 24 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.5× the cleanest month (December, 7 µg/m³).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	8	8	8	7	8	8	11	18	24	19	10	7
Level	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Good

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	8	Good
Feb	8	Good
Mar	8	Good
Apr	7	Good
May	8	Good
Jun	8	Good
Jul	11	Good
Aug	18	Moderate
Sep	24	Moderate
Oct	19	Moderate
Nov	10	Good
Dec	7	Good

Location & terrain

Where is Choma?

Choma sits at 16.8°S, 27.0°E, 1,317 m above sea level, in Zambia. The nearest listed city is Kalomo, 59 km away.

Topography around Choma

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Choma has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 65 m around an average of 1,304 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 190 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 906 m.

The land around Choma is covered by grassland (40%) and artificial surfaces (37%) within 3 km, grassland (43%) and trees (23%) within 16 km, and grassland (29%), trees (24%) and cropland (23%) within 80 km.

3 km

65 m

grassland 40%

16 km

190 m

grassland 43%

80 km

906 m

grassland 29%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater

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

May weather nearby: Kalomo 59 km · Maamba 64 km · Sinazongwe 71 km · Monze 79 km · Namwala 131 km · Mazabuka 133 km · Itezhi-Tezhi 156 km · Livingstone 166 km

Zambia travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 1; Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs: Type C / D / G; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 30% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $1,318; 2025
Happiness: 4.1 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Homicide rate: 5.2; per 100k, 2015
Road deaths: 20.5; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Lower middle; World Bank
English: High; EF EPI 573
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 Choma (-16.8089°, 26.9875°, elevation 1,317 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. 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).

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	88	12
2	89	11
3	89	11
4	90	10
5	90	10
6	90	10
7	90	10
8	91	9
9	91	9
10	91	9
11	91	9
12	91	9
13	91	9
14	90	10
15	90	10
16	90	10
17	90	10
18	90	10
19	89	11
20	89	11
21	89	11
22	89	11
23	90	10
24	90	10
25	91	9
26	91	9
27	91	9
28	91	9
29	91	9
30	91	9
31	91	9

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	66	27	7
2	68	26	6
3	71	24	5
4	72	23	5
5	75	21	4
6	77	20	3
7	78	19	3
8	81	17	2
9	82	16	2
10	83	15	2
11	85	14	1
12	87	12	1
13	88	11	1
14	89	10	1
15	90	9	1
16	92	8	0
17	92	8	0
18	93	7	0
19	94	6	0
20	94	6	0
21	94	6	0
22	95	5	0
23	95	5	0
24	95	5	0
25	95	5	0
26	95	5	0
27	96	4	0
28	96	4	0
29	96	4	0
30	96	4	0
31	97	3	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	88	12
2	89	11
3	89	11
4	90	10
5	90	10
6	90	10
7	90	10
8	91	9
9	91	9
10	91	9
11	91	9
12	91	9
13	91	9
14	90	10
15	90	10
16	90	10
17	90	10
18	90	10
19	89	11
20	89	11
21	89	11
22	89	11
23	90	10
24	90	10
25	91	9
26	91	9
27	91	9
28	91	9
29	91	9
30	91	9
31	91	9

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	66	27	7
2	68	26	6
3	71	24	5
4	72	23	5
5	75	21	4
6	77	20	3
7	78	19	3
8	81	17	2
9	82	16	2
10	83	15	2
11	85	14	1
12	87	12	1
13	88	11	1
14	89	10	1
15	90	9	1
16	92	8	0
17	92	8	0
18	93	7	0
19	94	6	0
20	94	6	0
21	94	6	0
22	95	5	0
23	95	5	0
24	95	5	0
25	95	5	0
26	95	5	0
27	96	4	0
28	96	4	0
29	96	4	0
30	96	4	0
31	97	3	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	88	12
2	89	11
3	89	11
4	90	10
5	90	10
6	90	10
7	90	10
8	91	9
9	91	9
10	91	9
11	91	9
12	91	9
13	91	9
14	90	10
15	90	10
16	90	10
17	90	10
18	90	10
19	89	11
20	89	11
21	89	11
22	89	11
23	90	10
24	90	10
25	91	9
26	91	9
27	91	9
28	91	9
29	91	9
30	91	9
31	91	9

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	66	27	7
2	68	26	6
3	71	24	5
4	72	23	5
5	75	21	4
6	77	20	3
7	78	19	3
8	81	17	2
9	82	16	2
10	83	15	2
11	85	14	1
12	87	12	1
13	88	11	1
14	89	10	1
15	90	9	1
16	92	8	0
17	92	8	0
18	93	7	0
19	94	6	0
20	94	6	0
21	94	6	0
22	95	5	0
23	95	5	0
24	95	5	0
25	95	5	0
26	95	5	0
27	96	4	0
28	96	4	0
29	96	4	0
30	96	4	0
31	97	3	0