Climate and average weather in Petauke

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

Best: mid April to late August

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Petauke typically varies from 14°C to 33°C, and is rarely below 12°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 Petauke for warm-weather activities is from mid April to late August.

Hottest
Oct
33°
Coldest
Jul
14°
Wettest
Jan
272 mm
Driest
Aug
1 mm
Rain / yr
979 mm
110 wet days
Daylight
11.2–12.8 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
1,015 m
14.2°S
Clearest
Sep
23% cloud

Petauke is human settlement in Zambia.

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

Petauke 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 Petauke, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 2.3 months, from September 17 to November 26, with daily high temperatures above 31°C. The hottest month of the year in Petauke is October, with an average high of 33°C and low of 21°C.

The cool season lasts 2.2 months, from May 29 to August 2, with daily high temperatures below 26°C. The coldest month of the year in Petauke is July, with an average low of 14°C and high of 25°C.

Days typically run about 10°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 12°C) in September.

10°15°20°25°30°35°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2820
Feb2820
Mar2820
Apr2818
May2716
Jun2514
Jul2514
Aug2816
Sep3119
Oct3321
Nov3222
Dec2921

How hot and cold Petauke 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, Petauke feels like about 34°C (around October 26). About 57 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
Mar29282020
Apr28281818
May27271616
Jun25251414
Jul25251414
Aug28281616
Sep31311919
Oct33332121
Nov32322222
Dec30292121

Average hourly temperature in Petauke

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 14°C.

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

Petauke 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°2722612.73.9
Feb28° / 20°2152112.54.3
Mar28° / 20°13918.412.15.1
Apr28° / 18°265.511.77.2
May27° / 16°5111.38.3
Jun25° / 14°10.111.29.0
Jul25° / 14°10.211.29.0
Aug28° / 16°10.111.58.2
Sep31° / 19°10.411.96.0
Oct33° / 21°9212.34.4
Nov32° / 22°751112.73.6
Dec29° / 21°23524.312.83.6

Chance of rain

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

Petauke gets about 979 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 4.8 months, from around Nov 12 to Apr 5, peaking in January at about 85% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jun 17.

January is the wettest month by volume, with 272 mm over about 26 wet days; August is the driest, with 1 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJan 20 · 85%Jun 17 · 0%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan8326
Feb7521
Mar5918
Apr196
May31
Jun00
Jul10
Aug00
Sep10
Oct72
Nov3611
Dec7724

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Petauke collects about 979 mm of rain across 110 wet days — roughly 82 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. January is the wettest month with 272 mm, while August is the driest at just 1 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 74% of the year’s total.

050100150200250300JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec2722151392651111975235
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan27226
Feb21521
Mar13918
Apr266
May51
Jun10
Jul10
Aug10
Sep10
Oct92
Nov7511
Dec23524

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Petauke, 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 10 and lasts for 7.2 months, ending around November 13. The clearest month is September, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 89% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 14 and lasts for 4.8 months, ending around April 9. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 87% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecAug 29 · 90%Jan 19 · 12%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan1387
Feb2179
Mar3664
Apr6733
May8119
Jun8416
Jul8119
Aug8713
Sep8911
Oct8515
Nov5743
Dec2179

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 48 min of light; the shortest, around May 28, only 11 h 12 min — a swing of roughly 1 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan12.75:416:27
Feb12.55:556:23
Mar12.16:016:07
Apr11.76:045:45
May11.36:115:31
Jun11.26:205:30
Jul11.26:235:37
Aug11.56:135:44
Sep11.95:515:47
Oct12.35:305:49
Nov12.75:206:00
Dec12.85:266:16

Sunny days

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

Petauke averages about 13 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 1 and 23 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.8 months, from around Apr 18 to Nov 11. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 23 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is January, down near 1 sunny days — about 94% fewer than the September peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantSep 123 daysJan 161 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan1Gloomy
Feb2Gloomy
Mar5Gloomy
Apr12Mixed
May18Bright
Jun18Bright
Jul19Bright
Aug21Bright
Sep23Bright
Oct20Bright
Nov11Mixed
Dec3Gloomy

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

The more humid part of the year lasts 5.3 months, from around November 14 to April 23. 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 24 to November 13, and June is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJun 26 · 100%Jan 8 · 0%muggydrycomfortablehumidhumidcomfortablehumid
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan0010864
Feb0112825
Mar0424684
Apr113138200
May5436910
Jun8911000
Jul991000
Aug973000
Sep927100
Oct6924700
Nov282526210
Dec3617741

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 Petauke is typically light breeze, near 12 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 7.4 months, from around Apr 8 to Nov 17. The windiest month is October, averaging about 16 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Nov 18 to Apr 7, with January the calmest month at about 8 km/h.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezeOct 7 · 16 km/hJan 21 · 7 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan8calm
Feb8calm
Mar10calm
Apr13light breeze
May13light breeze
Jun13light breeze
Jul15light breeze
Aug15light breeze
Sep16light breeze
Oct16light breeze
Nov13light breeze
Dec9calm

Hazard calendar for Petauke

In seasonPeak

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

Petauke'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 Petauke

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late April, Petauke is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

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 Petauke for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid April to late August, with a peak score in the first week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 3 · 9.1

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
Jan3.9fair
Feb4.3fair
Mar5.1fair
Apr7.2good
May8.3ideal
Jun8.9ideal
Jul9.0ideal
Aug8.2ideal
Sep6.0good
Oct4.4fair
Nov3.7fair
Dec3.6fair

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 Petauke 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 28 · 9.2

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 Petauke, 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 25°C), pack light clothes and sun protection.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

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

UV index (midday) in Petauke 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 Petauke peaks around January 20 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 highExtremeJan 20UV 16Jun 22UV 9
UV index (midday)Level
Jan16Extreme
Feb15Extreme
Mar15Extreme
Apr12Extreme
May10Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug10Extreme
Sep11Extreme
Oct11Extreme
Nov13Extreme
Dec14Extreme

Average hourly UV index in Petauke

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
Feb8.57
Mar8.56.5
Apr7.56
May74.5
Jun6.54
Jul74.5
Aug7.55
Sep7.55.5
Oct85.5
Nov8.56.5
Dec8.56.5

Air quality in Petauke 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 Petauke is worst in September — around 26 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 4.2× the cleanest month (December, 6 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodSep 1026 µg/m³Apr 176 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb8Good
Mar7Good
Apr6Good
May7Good
Jun11Good
Jul18Moderate
Aug25Moderate
Sep26Moderate
Oct16Moderate
Nov9Good
Dec6Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Petauke 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. Petauke banks about 4,866 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around November.

02,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan429
Feb386
Mar423
Apr384
May355
Jun289
Jul290
Aug363
Sep444
Oct529
Nov515
Dec459

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.

Petauke receives about 5.7 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.6 and 7.0 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 4.0 months, from around Aug 16 to Dec 14. The brightest month is October, averaging about 7.0 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is June, down near 4.7 kWh/m² — roughly 32% less than the October peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmoderatebrightintenseOct 217.0 kWhJun 304.6 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan5.3Bright
Feb5.5Bright
Mar5.5Bright
Apr5.3Bright
May5.1Bright
Jun4.7Bright
Jul4.8Bright
Aug5.7Bright
Sep6.7Intense
Oct7.0Intense
Nov6.6Intense
Dec5.7Bright

Where is Petauke?

Petauke sits at 14.2°S, 31.3°E, 1,015 m above sea level, in Zambia. The nearest listed city is Sinda, 48 km away.

KateteChipataSerenjeMchinjiSongoMkushi

Topography around Petauke

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Petauke has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 108 m around an average of 1,000 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 267 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 986 m.

The land around Petauke is covered by cropland (43%) and artificial surfaces (25%) within 3 km, cropland (55%) and grassland (20%) within 16 km, and cropland (34%) and shrubs (30%) within 80 km.

3 km
108 m
16 km
267 m
80 km
986 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaces
Nearby: Sinda 48 km · Nyimba 65 km · Katete 85 km · Chipata 159 km · Serenje 162 km · Mchinji 175 km · Songo 216 km · Mkushi 219 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 Petauke (-14.2412°, 31.3197°, elevation 1,015 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).