Lusaka West weather in January

In January, Lusaka West sees average daytime highs of 27°C and overnight lows near 19°C, with 224 mm of rain across 24.5 wet days and about 12.8 hours of daylight. It is the 6th-warmest and 1st-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 27°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 6% of the time in January, and the air most often feels muggy.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 54 min at the start of January to 12 h 42 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Lusaka West's 12th-clearest and 12th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Lusaka West's year-round climate.

Daytime high
27°
6th warmest
Overnight low
19°
9th coldest
Rainfall
224 mm
24.5 wet days
Daylight
12 h 48 min
5:52 AM – 6:41 PM
Cloud cover
82%
12th clearest
Wind
8 km/h
12th windiest
Solar energy
5.29 kWh/m²
Travel score
4.1
out of 10

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 27°C through the month.

A typical January day in Lusaka West reaches about 27°C in the afternoon and slips back to 19°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 25°C and 29°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 1°C cooler than December and on par with February.

15°20°25°30°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
12719
22719
32719
42719
52719
62719
72719
82719
92719
102719
112719
122719
132719
142719
152719
162719
172719
182719
192719
202719
212719
222719
232719
242719
252719
262719
272719
282719
292719
302719
312719

How January really feels in Lusaka West

Once humidity and wind are folded in, January averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

January sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Lusaka West weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 6th-warmest and 1st-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan27° / 19°22424.512.84.1
Feb27° / 19°16619.912.54.5
Mar27° / 18°10015.912.15.5
Apr27° / 16°224.111.77.5
May26° / 13°20.511.38.7
Jun24° / 11°00.111.19.3
Jul24° / 11°00.111.29.2
Aug27° / 14°0011.58.7
Sep30° / 17°10.311.96.5
Oct32° / 20°112.412.34.8
Nov31° / 20°8312.912.74.2
Dec28° / 19°1912312.94.2

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 6% of the time in January, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 11% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 82%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
11783
21783
31882
41882
51882
61882
71882
81882
91882
101981
111981
121882
131882
141882
151783
161684
171684
181684
191684
201684
211684
221783
231882
241783
251783
261882
271882
281882
291981
301981
312179

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Lusaka West gets around 224 mm of rain over 24.5 wet days in January, the wettest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 79% and peaks near 81% on the wettest days.

0%20%40%60%80%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
179
279
379
478
578
678
778
878
978
1079
1179
1280
1380
1481
1581
1681
1781
1881
1981
2081
2180
2280
2380
2480
2579
2679
2778
2878
2977
3077
3176

Humidity in January

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, January lands in the muggy band about 82% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 82% of them.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
121781
221781
321781
421880
521880
621880
721880
821880
921880
1021880
1121880
1211782
1311782
1411782
1511782
1611782
1711782
1811782
1911782
2011782
2101783
2201783
2301783
2401783
2501783
2601783
2701783
2801783
2901882
3001882
3101882

Wind in January

Winds average 8 km/h in January, the calmest month.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 8 km/h on the calmest days to 8 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
18calm
28calm
38calm
48calm
58calm
68calm
78calm
88calm
98calm
108calm
118calm
128calm
138calm
148calm
158calm
168calm
178calm
188calm
198calm
208calm
218calm
228calm
238calm
248calm
258calm
268calm
278calm
288calm
298calm
308calm
318calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 54 min at the start of January to 12 h 42 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 12 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 5:44 AM to 6:00 AM, and sunset from 6:38 PM to 6:41 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
112.95:446:38
212.95:446:38
312.95:456:38
412.95:466:39
512.95:466:39
612.95:476:39
712.95:476:39
812.95:486:40
912.95:486:40
1012.95:496:40
1112.85:496:40
1212.85:506:41
1312.85:516:41
1412.85:516:41
1512.85:526:41
1612.85:526:41
1712.85:536:41
1812.85:536:42
1912.85:546:42
2012.85:556:42
2112.85:556:42
2212.85:566:42
2312.85:566:42
2412.85:576:42
2512.75:576:42
2612.75:586:42
2712.75:586:42
2812.75:596:42
2912.75:596:42
3012.76:006:42
3112.76:006:41

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 5.29 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.87 kWh/m² to a high of 7.22 kWh/m² in October across the year — January's 5.29 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.4Bright
25.4Bright
35.4Bright
45.4Bright
55.4Bright
65.4Bright
75.4Bright
85.3Bright
95.3Bright
105.3Bright
115.3Bright
125.3Bright
135.3Bright
145.3Bright
155.3Bright
165.3Bright
175.2Bright
185.2Bright
195.2Bright
205.2Bright
215.2Bright
225.2Bright
235.2Bright
245.2Bright
255.2Bright
265.2Bright
275.3Bright
285.3Bright
295.3Bright
305.3Bright
315.3Bright
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Lusaka West

In seasonPeak

In January, Lusaka West sits inside its monsoon season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Lusaka West's monsoon runs December–February, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Is January a good time to visit Lusaka West?

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

4.1
Sightseeing
12th-best month of the year
4.3
Beach & pool
12th-best month of the year

January is a reasonable time to visit Lusaka West for sightseeing.

What to pack for Lusaka West in January

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

In January, Lusaka West sees daytime highs around 27°C and nights near 19°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 25 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

UV index in Lusaka West in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 16 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Lusaka West peaks around January 19 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 23 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 highExtremeJan 19UV 16Jun 23UV 9
UV index (midday)Level
Jan16Extreme
Feb15Extreme
Mar14Extreme
Apr12Extreme
May10Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug10Very high
Sep11Extreme
Oct12Extreme
Nov14Extreme
Dec13Extreme

Air quality in Lusaka West in January

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Lusaka West is worst in August — around 42 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 2.8× the cleanest month (December, 15 µg/m³).

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

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModeratePoorModerateAug 1541 µg/m³Dec 2315 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan15Moderate
Feb18Moderate
Mar17Moderate
Apr17Moderate
May22Moderate
Jun31Moderate
Jul37Poor
Aug42Poor
Sep34Moderate
Oct27Moderate
Nov20Moderate
Dec15Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Lusaka West?

Lusaka West sits at 15.3°S, 28.1°E, 1,175 m above sea level, in Zambia. The nearest listed city is Namalombwe, 12 km away.

Topography around Lusaka West

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Lusaka West has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 109 m around an average of 1,137 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 235 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,025 m.

The land around Lusaka West is covered by shrubs (28%), trees (23%) and cropland (23%) within 3 km, grassland (29%), cropland (27%) and shrubs (25%) within 16 km, and grassland (37%) and shrubs (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
109 m
16 km
235 m
80 km
1,025 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswetland
January weather nearby: Namalombwe 12 km · Chunga 17 km · Lusaka 21 km · Madido 29 km · Nampundwe 29 km · Chisankane 32 km · Chilanga Township 33 km · Ntandabale 34 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 Lusaka West (-15.3186°, 28.1103°, elevation 1,175 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).