Climate and average weather in Karoi

In Karoi, the summers are hot, dry, and mostly clear and the winters are warm and clear.

Best: mid April to late September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Karoi typically varies from 10°C to 30°C, and is rarely below 8°C or above 34°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 Karoi for warm-weather activities is from mid April to late September.

Hottest
Oct
30°
Coldest
Jul
10°
Wettest
Jan
223 mm
Driest
Aug
0 mm
Rain / yr
778 mm
101 wet days
Daylight
11.0–13.0 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
1,259 m
16.8°S
Clearest
Aug
17% cloud

Karoi is human settlement.

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

Karoi 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 September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 2.4 months, from September 16 to November 27, with daily high temperatures above 28°C. The hottest month of the year in Karoi is October, with an average high of 30°C and low of 19°C.

The cool season lasts 2.1 months, from May 31 to August 1, with daily high temperatures below 23°C. The coldest month of the year in Karoi is July, with an average low of 10°C and high of 22°C.

Days typically run about 10°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 13°C) in September.

10°15°20°25°30°35°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2619
Feb2618
Mar2618
Apr2616
May2413
Jun2311
Jul2210
Aug2512
Sep2816
Oct3019
Nov3020
Dec2719

Average hourly temperature in Karoi

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 30°C, and coldest before dawn in July, near 10°C.

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

Karoi 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
Jan26° / 19°22323.712.94.4
Feb26° / 18°16620.812.64.6
Mar26° / 18°10215.612.15.8
Apr26° / 16°274.811.67.7
May24° / 13°41.111.28.9
Jun23° / 11°10.2119.0
Jul22° / 10°10.211.18.9
Aug25° / 12°00.111.49.3
Sep28° / 16°30.611.98.0
Oct30° / 19°122.412.46.2
Nov30° / 20°6710.612.85.1
Dec27° / 19°17221134.7

Chance of rain

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

Karoi gets about 778 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 4.7 months, from around Nov 11 to Apr 3, peaking in January at about 80% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jun 21.

January is the wettest month by volume, with 223 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 20 · 80%Jun 21 · 0%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan7724
Feb7321
Mar5016
Apr175
May41
Jun10
Jul10
Aug00
Sep21
Oct82
Nov3511
Dec6721

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Karoi collects about 778 mm of rain across 101 wet days — roughly 65 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. January is the wettest month with 223 mm, while August is the driest at just 0 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 72% of the year’s total.

050100150200250JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec22316610227411031267172
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan22324
Feb16621
Mar10216
Apr275
May41
Jun10
Jul10
Aug00
Sep31
Oct122
Nov6711
Dec17221

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Karoi, 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 9 and lasts for 7.0 months, ending around November 6. 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 7 and lasts for 5.0 months, ending around April 8. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 76% 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 13 · 95%Dec 22 · 21%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan2476
Feb3169
Mar5050
Apr7327
May8911
Jun8812
Jul8812
Aug946
Sep928
Oct8416
Nov5347
Dec2773

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 5, only 11 hours — a swing of roughly 2 hours.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan12.95:436:38
Feb12.65:596:33
Mar12.16:076:14
Apr11.66:135:50
May11.26:215:34
Jun11.06:315:32
Jul11.16:345:39
Aug11.46:225:48
Sep11.95:585:53
Oct12.45:355:58
Nov12.85:226:10
Dec13.05:276:27

Sunny days

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

Karoi 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 26 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.6 months, from around Apr 19 to Nov 6. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 25 sunny days (brilliant).

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

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantSep 326 daysJan 252 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan3Gloomy
Feb3Gloomy
Mar7Gloomy
Apr14Mixed
May21Bright
Jun21Bright
Jul21Bright
Aug26Brilliant
Sep25Brilliant
Oct22Bright
Nov11Mixed
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 Karoi, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.8 months, from around November 17 to April 12. The muggiest month is January, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 94% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around April 13 to November 16, and May is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 98% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 23 · 100%Jan 27 · 3%muggydrycomfortablehumidhumidcomfortablehumid
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan063362
Feb053461
Mar1135332
Apr2940284
May831520
Jun99100
Jul100000
Aug100000
Sep97310
Oct791920
Nov3829304
Dec6134240

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 Karoi is typically calm, near 10 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 4.6 months, from around Jul 18 to Dec 5. The windiest month is October, averaging about 13 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Dec 6 to Jul 17, with February the calmest month at about 8 km/h.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezeOct 9 · 14 km/hFeb 19 · 8 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan8calm
Feb8calm
Mar9calm
Apr9calm
May9calm
Jun9calm
Jul10calm
Aug11calm
Sep13light breeze
Oct13light breeze
Nov11calm
Dec9calm

Hazard calendar for Karoi

In seasonPeak

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

Karoi'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 Karoi

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late April, Karoi 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 Karoi for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid April to late September, with a peak score in the second week of August.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 10 · 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
Jan4.4fair
Feb4.6fair
Mar5.8good
Apr7.7ideal
May8.9ideal
Jun9.0ideal
Jul9.0ideal
Aug9.3ideal
Sep7.9ideal
Oct6.2good
Nov5.1fair
Dec4.7fair

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Karoi for hot-weather activities run from mid April to late May and again from late July to early November, with a peak score in the third week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 19 · 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 Karoi, 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 30°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around July (highs near 22°C), pack light clothes and sun protection.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In October, Karoi sees daytime highs around 30°C and nights near 19°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

UV index (midday) in Karoi 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 Karoi peaks around January 18 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 22 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 18UV 16Jun 22UV 8
UV index (midday)Level
Jan17Extreme
Feb15Extreme
Mar14Extreme
Apr12Extreme
May9Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug10Very high
Sep11Extreme
Oct12Extreme
Nov14Extreme
Dec14Extreme

Average hourly UV index in Karoi

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 7.5 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)
Jan97.5
Feb8.57
Mar86.5
Apr7.55.5
May74.5
Jun6.54
Jul6.54
Aug74.5
Sep7.55.5
Oct86
Nov8.57
Dec8.57

Air quality in Karoi 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 Karoi is worst in September — around 38 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 6.6× the cleanest month (December, 6 µg/m³).

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

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateModerateGoodSep 1437 µg/m³Dec 226 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb8Good
Mar8Good
Apr8Good
May9Good
Jun14Moderate
Jul19Moderate
Aug31Moderate
Sep38Poor
Oct25Moderate
Nov11Good
Dec6Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Karoi 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. Karoi banks about 3,986 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around November.

01,0002,0003,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan385
Feb343
Mar372
Apr320
May268
Jun197
Jul193
Aug270
Sep359
Oct444
Nov435
Dec400

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.

Karoi receives about 5.7 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.6 and 7.1 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 4.0 months, from around Aug 14 to Dec 14. The brightest month is October, averaging about 7.1 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is June, down near 4.7 kWh/m² — roughly 34% less than the October peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmoderatebrightintenseOct 217.1 kWhJun 264.6 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan5.4Bright
Feb5.4Bright
Mar5.5Bright
Apr5.4Bright
May5.0Bright
Jun4.7Bright
Jul4.8Bright
Aug5.8Bright
Sep6.7Intense
Oct7.1Intense
Nov6.6Intense
Dec5.7Bright

Where is Karoi?

Karoi sits at 16.8°S, 29.7°E, 1,259 m above sea level, in Zimbabwe. The nearest listed city is Chinhoyi, 82 km away.

ChinhoyiKaribaSiavongaChirunduMvurwiChegutuNortonMount Hampden

Topography around Karoi

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Karoi has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 110 m around an average of 1,253 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 278 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,041 m.

The land around Karoi is covered by grassland (51%) within 3 km, grassland (51%) and cropland (33%) within 16 km, and shrubs (44%) within 80 km.

3 km
110 m
16 km
278 m
80 km
1,041 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Nearby: Chinhoyi 82 km · Kariba 101 km · Siavonga 109 km · Chirundu 125 km · Mvurwi 126 km · Chegutu 154 km · Norton 160 km · Mount Hampden 168 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 Karoi (-16.8099°, 29.6925°, elevation 1,259 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).