Harare weather in January

In January, Harare sees average daytime highs of 26°C and overnight lows near 17°C, with 218 mm of rain across 20.5 wet days and about 12.9 hours of daylight. It is the 6th-warmest and 1st-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 26°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 11% of the time in January, and the air most often feels humid.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 06 min at the start of January to 12 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Harare's 12th-clearest and 10th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Harare's year-round climate.

Daytime high
26°
6th warmest
Overnight low
17°
12th coldest
Rainfall
218 mm
20.5 wet days
Daylight
13 hours
5:36 AM – 6:34 PM
Cloud cover
74%
12th clearest
Wind
9 km/h
10th windiest
Solar energy
5.71 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.0
out of 10

Harare is capital and largest city of Zimbabwe.

Founded
1890

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

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 26°C through the month.

A typical January day in Harare reaches about 26°C in the afternoon and slips back to 17°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 23°C and 28°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and on par with February.

15°20°25°30°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
12617
22617
32617
42617
52617
62617
72617
82617
92617
102617
112617
122617
132617
142617
152617
162617
172617
182617
192617
202617
212617
222617
232617
242617
252617
262617
272617
282617
292617
302617
312617

Harare 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
Jan26° / 17°21820.512.95.0
Feb26° / 17°1441612.65.4
Mar26° / 16°9312.512.16.4
Apr25° / 14°284.911.67.9
May23° / 11°61.411.28.8
Jun21° / 20.4118.7
Jul21° / 10.2118.7
Aug24° / 10°10.211.49.3
Sep27° / 13°30.911.98.5
Oct29° / 16°224.112.46.8
Nov28° / 17°8212.512.85.7
Dec26° / 17°17920.1135.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 11% of the time in January, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 19% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 69%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13070
23070
33070
43169
53169
63169
73169
83268
93169
103169
113169
123169
133070
143070
152971
162971
172971
182971
192872
202971
212971
222971
233070
243070
253169
263169
273268
283367
293367
303466
313466

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Harare gets around 218 mm of rain over 20.5 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 66% and peaks near 68% on the wettest days.

0%20%40%60%80%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
166
265
365
465
564
664
764
864
965
1065
1165
1266
1366
1467
1567
1667
1768
1868
1968
2068
2168
2268
2368
2467
2567
2666
2766
2865
2965
3064
3164

Humidity in January

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, January lands in the humid band about 66% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 6% of them.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
1425656
2426646
3526636
4527626
5527626
6527626
7527626
8527617
9527617
10527617
11526627
12525637
13525637
14424657
15423676
16423676
17422686
18422686
19421696
20321706
21321706
22321706
23321706
24322687
25222697
26223687
27223687
28224677
29324667
30324667
31325657

Wind in January

Winds average 9 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 9 km/h on the calmest days to 9 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
19calm
29calm
39calm
49calm
59calm
69calm
79calm
89calm
99calm
109calm
119calm
129calm
139calm
149calm
159calm
169calm
179calm
189calm
199calm
209calm
219calm
229calm
239calm
249calm
259calm
269calm
279calm
289calm
299calm
309calm
319calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 06 min at the start of January to 12 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 18 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 5:27 AM to 5:45 AM, and sunset from 6:30 PM to 6:33 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
113.15:276:30
213.05:286:31
313.05:296:31
413.05:296:31
513.05:306:32
613.05:306:32
713.05:316:32
813.05:316:33
913.05:326:33
1013.05:336:33
1113.05:336:33
1213.05:346:33
1313.05:346:34
1413.05:356:34
1513.05:366:34
1613.05:366:34
1713.05:376:34
1812.95:376:34
1912.95:386:34
2012.95:396:34
2112.95:396:34
2212.95:406:34
2312.95:406:34
2412.95:416:34
2512.95:426:34
2612.95:426:34
2712.95:436:34
2812.85:436:34
2912.85:446:34
3012.85:446:33
3112.85:456:33

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 5.71 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.67 kWh/m² to a high of 7.02 kWh/m² in October across the year — January's 5.71 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.8Bright
25.8Bright
35.8Bright
45.8Bright
55.8Bright
65.8Bright
75.8Bright
85.8Bright
95.8Bright
105.7Bright
115.7Bright
125.7Bright
135.7Bright
145.7Bright
155.7Bright
165.7Bright
175.7Bright
185.7Bright
195.7Bright
205.7Bright
215.7Bright
225.7Bright
235.7Bright
245.7Bright
255.7Bright
265.7Bright
275.7Bright
285.7Bright
295.7Bright
305.7Bright
315.7Bright
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Harare

In seasonPeak

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

Harare'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 Harare?

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

5.0
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
4.7
Beach & pool
12th-best month of the year

January is a reasonable time to visit Harare for sightseeing.

What to pack for Harare in January

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

In January, Harare sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 17°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: light clothes and sun protection. About 21 days see rain.

rain gearlight clothessun protection

UV index in Harare 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 Harare peaks around January 16 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 20 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 16UV 16Jun 20UV 8
UV index (midday)Level
Jan16Extreme
Feb14Extreme
Mar14Extreme
Apr11Extreme
May9Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep10Extreme
Oct11Extreme
Nov14Extreme
Dec14Extreme

Air quality in Harare 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 Harare is worst in August — around 53 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 4.7× the cleanest month (January, 11 µg/m³).

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

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModeratePoorModerateAug 1452 µg/m³Jan 1111 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan11Good
Feb15Moderate
Mar17Moderate
Apr23Moderate
May34Moderate
Jun39Poor
Jul48Poor
Aug53Poor
Sep43Poor
Oct29Moderate
Nov17Moderate
Dec12Good
Location & terrain

Where is Harare?

Harare sits at 17.8°S, 31.1°E, 1,494 m above sea level, in Zimbabwe. The nearest listed city is Epworth, 12 km away.

BinduraMarondera

Topography around Harare

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Harare has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 89 m around an average of 1,481 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 219 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 831 m.

The land around Harare is covered by artificial surfaces (50%) and trees (31%) within 3 km, artificial surfaces (28%), trees (25%) and cropland (25%) within 16 km, and grassland (42%) and cropland (23%) within 80 km.

3 km
89 m
16 km
219 m
80 km
831 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Epworth 12 km · Mount Hampden 15 km · Harare Western Suburbs 19 km · Chitungwiza 21 km · Ruwa 21 km · Norton 38 km · Bindura 65 km · Marondera 66 km

Zimbabwe travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type D / G
220 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 56% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$3,021
2025
Happiness
3.3 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
25%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
6.8
per 100k, 2022
Road deaths
41.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Lower middle
World Bank
English
Very high
EF EPI 602
Religion
Apostolic Sect 40%Pentecostal 17%Protestant 14%none 8%

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 Harare (-17.8277°, 31.0534°, elevation 1,494 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).