Climate and average weather in Kalabo

In Kalabo, the summers are sweltering, fairly dry, and mostly clear and the winters are warm and clear.

Best: early May to mid August

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Kalabo typically varies from 11°C to 34°C, and is rarely below 8°C or above 37°C. October is the hottest month of the year, while June is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Kalabo for warm-weather activities is from early May to mid August.

Hottest
Oct
34°
Coldest
Jun
12°
Wettest
Jan
246 mm
Driest
Jun
0 mm
Rain / yr
975 mm
116 wet days
Daylight
11.1–12.9 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
1,029 m
15.0°S
Clearest
Jul
10% cloud

Kalabo is human settlement.

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

Kalabo 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 early May to mid August.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 2.0 months, from September 5 to November 5, with daily high temperatures above 32°C. The hottest month of the year in Kalabo is October, with an average high of 34°C and low of 21°C.

The cool season lasts 2.1 months, from May 27 to July 29, with daily high temperatures below 28°C. The coldest month of the year in Kalabo is June, with an average low of 12°C and high of 26°C.

Days typically run about 12°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 16°C) in August.

10°20°30°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2820
Feb2820
Mar2819
Apr2918
May2815
Jun2612
Jul2711
Aug3014
Sep3318
Oct3421
Nov3120
Dec2820

How hot and cold Kalabo 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, Kalabo feels like about 35°C (around October 5). About 69 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in October.

10°15°20°25°30°35°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan29282020
Feb29282020
Mar29281919
Apr29291818
May28281515
Jun26261212
Jul27271111
Aug30301414
Sep33331818
Oct34342121
Nov31312020
Dec29282020

Average hourly temperature in Kalabo

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 October afternoons, near 34°C, and coldest before dawn in June, near 12°C.

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

Kalabo 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
Jan28° / 20°24624.412.84.1
Feb28° / 20°20121.212.54.2
Mar28° / 19°14819.112.14.7
Apr29° / 18°314.511.76.5
May28° / 15°10.211.38.0
Jun26° / 12°0011.19.1
Jul27° / 11°0011.29.1
Aug30° / 14°0011.56.9
Sep33° / 18°30.411.94.5
Oct34° / 21°214.812.33.4
Nov31° / 20°12217.312.73.6
Dec28° / 20°20223.812.94.0

Chance of rain

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

Kalabo gets about 975 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 5.2 months, from around Oct 30 to Apr 5, peaking in January at about 80% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around May 28.

January is the wettest month by volume, with 246 mm over about 24 wet days; June is the driest, with 0 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJan 23 · 80%May 28 · 0%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan7924
Feb7521
Mar6019
Apr175
May10
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep20
Oct165
Nov5717
Dec7624

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Kalabo collects about 975 mm of rain across 116 wet days — roughly 81 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. January is the wettest month with 246 mm, while June is the driest at just 0 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 67% of the year’s total.

050100150200250300JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec246201148311321122202
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan24624
Feb20121
Mar14819
Apr315
May10
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep30
Oct215
Nov12217
Dec20224

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Kalabo, 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 April 7 and lasts for 6.6 months, ending around October 24. The clearest month is June, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 96% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 25 and lasts for 5.4 months, ending around April 6. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 84% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJun 4 · 97%Jan 24 · 14%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan1684
Feb2080
Mar3763
Apr7426
May946
Jun964
Jul964
Aug955
Sep9010
Oct7129
Nov3664
Dec1783

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 54 min of light; the shortest, around June 7, only 11 h 06 min — a swing of roughly 1 h 48 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan12.86:157:03
Feb12.56:296:59
Mar12.16:366:42
Apr11.76:406:19
May11.36:466:05
Jun11.16:566:03
Jul11.26:596:11
Aug11.56:496:18
Sep11.96:266:21
Oct12.36:046:25
Nov12.75:536:36
Dec12.95:596:52

Sunny days

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

Kalabo averages about 15 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 1 and 28 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.2 months, from around Apr 11 to Oct 17. The sunniest month is July, with roughly 27 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is January, down near 2 sunny days — about 94% fewer than the July peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantJul 2628 daysJan 231 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan2Gloomy
Feb3Gloomy
Mar7Gloomy
Apr17Bright
May26Brilliant
Jun27Brilliant
Jul28Brilliant
Aug28Brilliant
Sep24Brilliant
Oct16Bright
Nov6Gloomy
Dec2Gloomy

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 Kalabo, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 5.5 months, from around November 1 to April 15. The muggiest month is January, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 100% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around April 16 to October 31, and May is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 98% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 23 · 100%Jan 1 · 0%humidmuggydrycomfortablehumidcomfortablehumid
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan006930
Feb019891
Mar1519740
Apr352124200
May916200
Jun1000000
Jul1000000
Aug1000000
Sep963100
Oct67171330
Nov121330450
Dec0111880

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 Kalabo is typically calm, near 9 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.4 months, from around Apr 19 to Oct 29. The windiest month is September, averaging about 12 km/h (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Oct 30 to Apr 18, with March the calmest month at about 7 km/h.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezeSep 5 · 12 km/hMar 2 · 7 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan8calm
Feb7calm
Mar7calm
Apr9calm
May10calm
Jun10calm
Jul11calm
Aug11calm
Sep12calm
Oct10calm
Nov8calm
Dec7calm

Hazard calendar for Kalabo

In seasonPeak

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

Kalabo's monsoon runs November–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

Monsoon
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Kalabo

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around early August, Kalabo 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 Kalabo for general outdoor tourist activities is from early May to mid August, with a peak score in the last week of June.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJun 22 · 9.2

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
Jan4.1fair
Feb4.2fair
Mar4.7fair
Apr6.5good
May8.0ideal
Jun9.1ideal
Jul9.1ideal
Aug6.9good
Sep4.5fair
Oct3.4poor
Nov3.6fair
Dec4.0fair

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 Kalabo for hot-weather activities is from mid April to late September, with a peak score in the second week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 8 · 9.4

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 Kalabo, 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.

For a warm-season trip around October (highs near 34°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around June (highs near 26°C), pack light clothes and sun protection.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In October, Kalabo sees daytime highs around 34°C and nights near 21°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. About 5 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Kalabo 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 Kalabo peaks around January 18 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 22 at about 9 (very high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highExtremeExtremeJan 18UV 16Jun 22UV 9
UV index (midday)Level
Jan16Extreme
Feb14Extreme
Mar14Extreme
Apr12Extreme
May10Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep11Extreme
Oct10Very high
Nov13Extreme
Dec13Extreme

Average hourly UV index in Kalabo

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 January 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)
Jan8.57
Feb8.57
Mar86
Apr7.56
May75
Jun6.54
Jul6.54
Aug74.5
Sep7.55.5
Oct7.55.5
Nov8.56.5
Dec8.56.5

Air quality in Kalabo 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 Kalabo is worst in September — around 36 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 5.9× the cleanest month (December, 6 µg/m³).

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

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodSep 1335 µg/m³Dec 196 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb9Good
Mar8Good
Apr7Good
May9Good
Jun17Moderate
Jul23Moderate
Aug31Moderate
Sep36Poor
Oct23Moderate
Nov10Good
Dec6Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Kalabo 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. Kalabo banks about 4,808 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around October.

02,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan423
Feb383
Mar423
Apr398
May360
Jun273
Jul273
Aug371
Sep471
Oct539
Nov465
Dec430

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.

Kalabo receives about 5.9 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 5.2 and 7.1 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 3.9 months, from around Aug 7 to Dec 3. The brightest month is October, averaging about 7.0 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is June, down near 5.2 kWh/m² — roughly 25% less than the October peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseOct 107.1 kWhJun 235.2 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan5.5Bright
Feb5.5Bright
Mar5.5Bright
Apr5.8Bright
May5.5Bright
Jun5.2Bright
Jul5.4Bright
Aug6.1Intense
Sep6.9Intense
Oct7.0Intense
Nov6.4Intense
Dec5.7Bright

Where is Kalabo?

Kalabo sits at 15.0°S, 22.7°E, 1,029 m above sea level, in Zambia. The nearest listed city is Mongu, 56 km away.

LukuluSenangaLumbalaZambeziChavumaKabompoKaoma

Topography around Kalabo

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kalabo has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 38 m around an average of 1,025 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 55 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 113 m.

The land around Kalabo is covered by wetland (43%) and grassland (22%) within 3 km, wetland (36%), shrubs (23%) and grassland (21%) within 16 km, and wetland (34%), grassland (30%) and shrubs (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
38 m
16 km
55 m
80 km
113 m
treesshrubsgrasslandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
Nearby: Mongu 56 km · Lukulu 92 km · Senanga 140 km · Lumbala 167 km · Zambezi 168 km · Chavuma 214 km · Kabompo 226 km · Kaoma 229 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
Protestant 75%Roman Catholic 20%other 3%none 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 Kalabo (-14.9931°, 22.6793°, elevation 1,029 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).