Climate and average weather in Siavonga

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

Best: early May to late August

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Siavonga typically varies from 15°C to 34°C, and is rarely below 13°C or above 38°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 Siavonga for warm-weather activities is from early May to late August.

Hottest
Oct
34°
Coldest
Jul
15°
Wettest
Jan
273 mm
Driest
Aug
0 mm
Rain / yr
967 mm
96 wet days
Daylight
11.0–13.0 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
528 m
16.5°S
Clearest
Aug
14% cloud

Siavonga is human settlement in Zambia.

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

Siavonga 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 late August.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Siavonga, 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 19 to November 23, with daily high temperatures above 32°C. The hottest month of the year in Siavonga is October, with an average high of 34°C and low of 24°C.

The cool season lasts 2.3 months, from May 29 to August 5, with daily high temperatures below 27°C. The coldest month of the year in Siavonga is July, with an average low of 15°C and high of 26°C.

Days typically run about 9°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 11°C) in September.

10°15°20°25°30°35°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan3024
Feb3023
Mar3023
Apr2921
May2818
Jun2616
Jul2615
Aug2817
Sep3221
Oct3424
Nov3325
Dec3124

How hot and cold Siavonga 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, Siavonga feels like about 35°C (around October 24). About 191 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in October.

15°20°25°30°35°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan33302424
Feb33302323
Mar32302323
Apr30292121
May28281818
Jun26261616
Jul26261515
Aug28281717
Sep32322121
Oct34342424
Nov34332525
Dec33312424

Average hourly temperature in Siavonga

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 July, near 15°C.

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

Siavonga 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
Jan30° / 24°27322.112.93.6
Feb30° / 23°20919.212.63.9
Mar30° / 23°13515.812.14.5
Apr29° / 21°375.711.66.2
May28° / 18°30.611.28.0
Jun26° / 16°10.2119.0
Jul26° / 15°10.211.19.1
Aug28° / 17°00.111.48.1
Sep32° / 21°20.311.95.5
Oct34° / 24°121.812.43.7
Nov33° / 25°781012.83.3
Dec31° / 24°21820.3133.5

Chance of rain

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

Siavonga gets about 967 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 4.9 months, from around Nov 12 to Apr 9, peaking in January at about 73% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jul 21.

January is the wettest month by volume, with 273 mm over about 22 wet days; August is the driest, with 0 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJan 22 · 73%Jul 21 · 0%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan7222
Feb6819
Mar5116
Apr196
May31
Jun10
Jul00
Aug00
Sep10
Oct62
Nov3310
Dec6520

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Siavonga collects about 967 mm of rain across 96 wet days — roughly 81 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. January is the wettest month with 273 mm, while August is the driest at just 0 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 72% of the year’s total.

050100150200250300JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec27320913537311021278218
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan27322
Feb20919
Mar13516
Apr376
May31
Jun10
Jul10
Aug00
Sep20
Oct122
Nov7810
Dec21820

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Siavonga, 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 2 and lasts for 7.2 months, ending around November 5. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 96% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 6 and lasts for 4.8 months, ending around April 1. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 72% 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 14 · 96%Dec 21 · 26%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan2872
Feb4060
Mar5743
Apr8020
May928
Jun919
Jul919
Aug964
Sep937
Oct8515
Nov5644
Dec3070

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 13 hours of light; the shortest, around June 8, only 11 hours — a swing of roughly 2 hours.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan12.95:486:41
Feb12.66:036:36
Mar12.16:116:18
Apr11.66:175:54
May11.26:255:38
Jun11.06:355:36
Jul11.16:385:44
Aug11.46:265:52
Sep11.96:025:57
Oct12.45:396:02
Nov12.85:276:14
Dec13.05:326:31

Sunny days

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

Siavonga averages about 17 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 4 and 27 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.8 months, from around Apr 14 to Nov 5. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 26 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is December, down near 5 sunny days — about 80% fewer than the August peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantAug 3027 daysDec 224 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan5Gloomy
Feb6Gloomy
Mar11Mixed
Apr17Bright
May24Brilliant
Jun23Bright
Jul23Bright
Aug26Brilliant
Sep26Brilliant
Oct23Bright
Nov12Mixed
Dec5Gloomy

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

The more humid part of the year lasts 6.0 months, from around November 5 to May 5. 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 May 6 to November 4, and August 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecAug 18 · 100%Jan 1 · 0%oppressivemuggyhumidcomfortabledryhumidcomfortablehumid
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan0022078
Feb0022078
Mar0174350
Apr11436409
May15522950
Jun5739500
Jul8118100
Aug8119000
Sep6728410
Oct32422150
Nov620293311
Dec0283456

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

The windier part of the year lasts 4.1 months, from around Aug 7 to Dec 10. The windiest month is October, averaging about 12 km/h (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Dec 11 to Aug 6, with March the calmest month at about 8 km/h.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmlight breezeOct 10 · 12 km/hMar 7 · 7 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan8calm
Feb8calm
Mar8calm
Apr8calm
May8calm
Jun8calm
Jul8calm
Aug9calm
Sep11calm
Oct12calm
Nov10calm
Dec8calm

Hazard calendar for Siavonga

In seasonPeak

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

Siavonga'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 Siavonga

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid August, Siavonga 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 Siavonga for general outdoor tourist activities is from early May to late August, with a peak score in the first week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 2 · 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
Jan3.6fair
Feb3.9fair
Mar4.5fair
Apr6.2good
May8.0ideal
Jun8.9ideal
Jul9.1ideal
Aug8.0ideal
Sep5.5good
Oct3.7fair
Nov3.3poor
Dec3.5fair

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

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 23 · 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 Siavonga, 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 July (highs near 26°C), pack light clothes and sun protection.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In October, Siavonga sees daytime highs around 34°C and nights near 24°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

UV index (midday) in Siavonga 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 Siavonga peaks around January 19 at about 15 (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 15Jul 10UV 8
UV index (midday)Level
Jan16Extreme
Feb14Extreme
Mar14Extreme
Apr11Extreme
May9Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep10Very high
Oct11Extreme
Nov13Extreme
Dec13Extreme

Average hourly UV index in Siavonga

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
Mar8.56.5
Apr7.55.5
May74.5
Jun63.5
Jul6.53.5
Aug74.5
Sep7.55
Oct85.5
Nov8.56.5
Dec8.56.5

Air quality in Siavonga 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 Siavonga is worst in September — around 32 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 4.7× the cleanest month (December, 7 µg/m³).

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

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodSep 1531 µg/m³Dec 217 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb9Good
Mar8Good
Apr8Good
May9Good
Jun12Good
Jul16Moderate
Aug25Moderate
Sep32Moderate
Oct23Moderate
Nov11Good
Dec7Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Siavonga 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. Siavonga banks about 5,569 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around November.

02,0004,0006,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan513
Feb459
Mar505
Apr454
May406
Jun326
Jul322
Aug395
Sep488
Oct593
Nov575
Dec532

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.

Siavonga receives about 5.7 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.5 and 7.1 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 4.8 months, from around Aug 17 to Jan 10. The brightest month is October, averaging about 7.1 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is June, down near 4.6 kWh/m² — roughly 36% less than the October peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmoderatebrightintenseOct 227.1 kWhJun 274.5 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan5.7Bright
Feb5.7Bright
Mar5.6Bright
Apr5.3Bright
May5.0Bright
Jun4.6Bright
Jul4.7Bright
Aug5.7Bright
Sep6.7Intense
Oct7.1Intense
Nov6.6Intense
Dec5.9Bright

Where is Siavonga?

Siavonga sits at 16.5°S, 28.7°E, 528 m above sea level, in Zambia. The nearest listed city is Kariba, 10 km away.

KafueKaroiChilanga TownshipPalabanaChisankaneMazabuka

Topography around Siavonga

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Siavonga has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 160 m around an average of 505 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 577 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,163 m.

The land around Siavonga is covered by water (55%) within 3 km, water (58%) and shrubs (26%) within 16 km, and shrubs (53%) and trees (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
160 m
16 km
577 m
80 km
1,163 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
Nearby: Kariba 10 km · Chirundu 58 km · Kafue 102 km · Karoi 109 km · Chilanga Township 117 km · Palabana 123 km · Chisankane 124 km · Mazabuka 128 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 Siavonga (-16.5382°, 28.7088°, elevation 528 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).