Climate and average weather in Mazabuka

In Mazabuka, the summers are sweltering, dry, and clear and the winters are warm and clear.

Best: mid April to late August

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Mazabuka typically varies from 11°C to 33°C, and is rarely below 8°C or above 37°C. October is the hottest month of the year, while July is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Mazabuka for warm-weather activities is from mid April to late August.

Hottest
Oct
33°
Coldest
Jul
11°
Wettest
Jan
201 mm
Driest
Aug
0 mm
Rain / yr
716 mm
100 wet days
Daylight
11.1–12.9 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
1,050 m
15.9°S
Clearest
Aug
14% cloud

Mazabuka is town in Zambia.

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

Mazabuka 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 mid April to late August.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 2.2 months, from September 15 to November 21, with daily high temperatures above 31°C. The hottest month of the year in Mazabuka is October, with an average high of 33°C and low of 21°C.

The cool season lasts 2.0 months, from June 1 to August 1, with daily high temperatures below 26°C. The coldest month of the year in Mazabuka is July, with an average low of 11°C and high of 24°C.

Days typically run about 12°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 14°C) in August.

10°20°30°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2820
Feb2819
Mar2819
Apr2816
May2714
Jun2511
Jul2411
Aug2714
Sep3117
Oct3321
Nov3221
Dec2920

How hot and cold Mazabuka 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, Mazabuka feels like about 33°C (around October 20). About 52 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)
Jan29281920
Feb29281919
Mar29281919
Apr28281616
May27271414
Jun25251111
Jul24241111
Aug27271414
Sep31311717
Oct33332121
Nov32322121
Dec30292020

Average hourly temperature in Mazabuka

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 33°C, and coldest before dawn in July, near 11°C.

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

Mazabuka 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°2012412.84.1
Feb28° / 19°14319.712.54.4
Mar28° / 19°931512.15.2
Apr28° / 16°214.111.77.4
May27° / 14°10.311.38.7
Jun25° / 11°0011.19.3
Jul24° / 11°00.111.29.3
Aug27° / 14°0011.58.6
Sep31° / 17°10.311.96.1
Oct33° / 21°132.512.44.4
Nov32° / 21°7412.512.73.9
Dec29° / 20°16921.912.93.9

Chance of rain

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

Mazabuka gets about 716 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is some rain, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 4.8 months, from around Nov 8 to Apr 2, peaking in January at about 79% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jun 12.

January is the wettest month by volume, with 201 mm over about 24 wet days; August is the driest, with 0 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJan 18 · 79%Jun 12 · 0%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan7724
Feb7020
Mar4815
Apr154
May10
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep10
Oct93
Nov4013
Dec7022

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Mazabuka collects about 716 mm of rain across 100 wet days — roughly 60 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. January is the wettest month with 201 mm, while August is the driest at just 0 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 72% of the year’s total.

050100150200250JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec2011439321100011374169
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan20124
Feb14320
Mar9315
Apr214
May10
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep10
Oct133
Nov7413
Dec16922

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Mazabuka, 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 4 and lasts for 7.1 months, ending around November 5. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 94% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 6 and lasts for 4.9 months, ending around April 3. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 80% 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 2 · 95%Dec 23 · 18%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan2080
Feb3070
Mar4753
Apr7525
May9010
Jun8812
Jul8812
Aug946
Sep937
Oct8317
Nov4951
Dec2278

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 May 29, 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)
Jan12.85:536:44
Feb12.56:086:39
Mar12.16:156:22
Apr11.76:205:59
May11.36:275:43
Jun11.16:375:41
Jul11.26:405:49
Aug11.56:295:57
Sep11.96:066:01
Oct12.45:436:05
Nov12.75:326:17
Dec12.95:376:33

Sunny days

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

Mazabuka averages about 15 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 2 and 27 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.7 months, from around Apr 14 to Nov 4. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 26 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is January, down near 3 sunny days — about 89% fewer than the August peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantAug 3127 daysJan 212 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan3Gloomy
Feb4Gloomy
Mar8Gloomy
Apr16Bright
May22Bright
Jun22Bright
Jul23Bright
Aug26Brilliant
Sep25Brilliant
Oct22Bright
Nov10Mixed
Dec4Gloomy

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

The more humid part of the year lasts 5.1 months, from around November 12 to April 16. The muggiest month is January, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 99% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around April 17 to November 11, and May is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 97% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 31 · 100%Jan 30 · 0%muggyhumidcomfortabledryhumidcomfortablehumid
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan011385
Feb011683
Mar193357
Apr25323012
May781930
Jun97300
Jul100000
Aug100000
Sep96400
Oct761760
Nov29222821
Dec372071

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 Mazabuka is typically calm, near 11 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 7.0 months, from around Apr 14 to Nov 12. The windiest month is October, averaging about 14 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Nov 13 to Apr 13, with January the calmest month at about 8 km/h.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezeOct 4 · 15 km/hJan 20 · 8 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan8calm
Feb8calm
Mar9calm
Apr11calm
May11calm
Jun11calm
Jul12light breeze
Aug13light breeze
Sep14light breeze
Oct14light breeze
Nov11calm
Dec8calm

Hazard calendar for Mazabuka

In seasonPeak

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

Mazabuka'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

Best time to visit Mazabuka

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late August, Mazabuka 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 Mazabuka for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid April to late August, with a peak score in the last week of June.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJun 24 · 9.4

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
Feb4.4fair
Mar5.2fair
Apr7.4good
May8.7ideal
Jun9.3ideal
Jul9.3ideal
Aug8.5ideal
Sep6.1good
Oct4.4fair
Nov3.9fair
Dec3.9fair

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 Mazabuka for hot-weather activities is from mid April to late October, with a peak score in the last week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 29 · 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 Mazabuka, 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 33°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around July (highs near 24°C), pack light clothes and sun protection.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In October, Mazabuka sees daytime highs around 33°C and nights near 21°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

UV index (midday) in Mazabuka 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 Mazabuka peaks around January 19 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near July 10 at about 8 (very high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highExtremeJan 19UV 16Jul 10UV 8
UV index (midday)Level
Jan16Extreme
Feb15Extreme
Mar14Extreme
Apr12Extreme
May9Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug10Very high
Sep11Extreme
Oct12Extreme
Nov14Extreme
Dec13Extreme

Average hourly UV index in Mazabuka

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 9 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)
Jan97
Feb8.56.5
Mar86.5
Apr7.55.5
May74.5
Jun6.54
Jul6.54
Aug75
Sep7.55.5
Oct86
Nov8.56.5
Dec8.56.5

Air quality in Mazabuka 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 Mazabuka is worst in August — around 37 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 2.9× the cleanest month (January, 13 µg/m³).

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

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModeratePoorModerateAug 2136 µg/m³Jan 1313 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan13Moderate
Feb15Moderate
Mar15Moderate
Apr16Moderate
May21Moderate
Jun27Moderate
Jul32Moderate
Aug37Poor
Sep36Poor
Oct27Moderate
Nov19Moderate
Dec14Moderate
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Mazabuka 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. Mazabuka banks about 4,567 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around October.

01,0002,0003,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan424
Feb380
Mar415
Apr362
May313
Jun239
Jul238
Aug324
Sep426
Oct519
Nov486
Dec442

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.

Mazabuka receives about 5.8 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.8 and 7.3 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 3.9 months, from around Aug 12 to Dec 8. The brightest month is October, averaging about 7.2 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is June, down near 4.8 kWh/m² — roughly 33% less than the October peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmoderatebrightintenseOct 177.3 kWhJun 284.8 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan5.4Bright
Feb5.5Bright
Mar5.5Bright
Apr5.5Bright
May5.3Bright
Jun4.8Bright
Jul5.0Bright
Aug5.9Bright
Sep6.9Intense
Oct7.3Intense
Nov6.6Intense
Dec5.6Bright

Where is Mazabuka?

Mazabuka sits at 15.9°S, 27.7°E, 1,050 m above sea level, in Zambia. The nearest listed city is Nampundwe, 43 km away.

Lusaka WestLusakaChisankane

Topography around Mazabuka

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Mazabuka has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 117 m around an average of 1,057 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 226 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 986 m.

The land around Mazabuka is covered by artificial surfaces (28%) and cropland (20%) within 3 km, grassland (31%), wetland (26%) and shrubs (20%) within 16 km, and grassland (33%) and shrubs (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
117 m
16 km
226 m
80 km
986 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
Nearby: Nampundwe 43 km · Kafue 47 km · Monze 55 km · Chilanga Township 64 km · Namalombwe 70 km · Lusaka West 71 km · Lusaka 76 km · Chisankane 77 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 Mazabuka (-15.856°, 27.748°, elevation 1,050 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).