Climate and average weather in Shurugwi

In Shurugwi, the summers are hot, fairly dry, and mostly clear and the winters are mild and clear.

Best: mid April to late September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Shurugwi typically varies from 8°C to 29°C, and is rarely below 5°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 Shurugwi for warm-weather activities is from mid April to late September.

Hottest
Oct
29°
Coldest
Jul
Wettest
Dec
187 mm
Driest
Aug
4 mm
Rain / yr
818 mm
99 wet days
Daylight
10.8–13.2 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
1,483 m
19.7°S
Clearest
Aug
18% cloud

Shurugwi is human settlement in Zimbabwe.

Founded
1899

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

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

The hot season lasts 4.2 months, from September 9 to January 15, with daily high temperatures above 27°C. The hottest month of the year in Shurugwi is October, with an average high of 29°C and low of 16°C.

The cool season lasts 1.8 months, from June 4 to July 29, with daily high temperatures below 22°C. The coldest month of the year in Shurugwi is July, with an average low of 8°C and high of 21°C.

Days typically run about 12°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 15°C) in September.

10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2718
Feb2717
Mar2616
Apr2513
May2310
Jun218
Jul218
Aug2410
Sep2813
Oct2916
Nov2917
Dec2718

Average hourly temperature in Shurugwi

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 29°C, and coldest before dawn in July, near C.

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

Shurugwi 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
Jan27° / 18°1741713.15.4
Feb27° / 17°13013.512.75.8
Mar26° / 16°10412.412.16.4
Apr25° / 13°396.211.67.8
May23° / 10°122.611.18.8
Jun21° / 92.110.88.4
Jul21° / 122.910.98.2
Aug24° / 10°41.311.39.1
Sep28° / 13°123.111.97.9
Oct29° / 16°326.612.56.3
Nov29° / 17°10313.112.95.3
Dec27° / 18°18717.813.25.2

Chance of rain

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

Shurugwi gets about 818 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 5.4 months, from around Oct 28 to Apr 8, peaking in December at about 59% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Aug 5.

December is the wettest month by volume, with 187 mm over about 18 wet days; August is the driest, with 4 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetDec 11 · 59%Aug 5 · 3%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan5517
Feb4814
Mar4012
Apr216
May93
Jun82
Jul83
Aug51
Sep103
Oct227
Nov4313
Dec5718

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Shurugwi collects about 818 mm of rain across 99 wet days — roughly 68 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. December is the wettest month with 187 mm, while August is the driest at just 4 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 60% of the year’s total.

050100150200JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec174130104391291241232103187
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan17417
Feb13014
Mar10412
Apr396
May123
Jun92
Jul123
Aug41
Sep123
Oct327
Nov10313
Dec18718

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Shurugwi, 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 6.7 months, ending around October 29. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 88% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 30 and lasts for 5.3 months, ending around April 8. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 61% 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 3 · 92%Dec 14 · 37%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4357
Feb5050
Mar6040
Apr7426
May8515
Jun8317
Jul7921
Aug8812
Sep8812
Oct7723
Nov5347
Dec3961

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 h 12 min of light; the shortest, around June 9, only 10 h 48 min — a swing of roughly 2 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan13.15:376:41
Feb12.75:556:35
Mar12.16:056:14
Apr11.66:145:47
May11.16:245:28
Jun10.86:365:25
Jul10.96:385:33
Aug11.36:245:44
Sep11.95:585:51
Oct12.55:315:59
Nov12.95:176:14
Dec13.25:216:32

Sunny days

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

Shurugwi averages about 16 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 7 and 26 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.4 months, from around Apr 14 to Oct 26. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 25 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is December, down near 7 sunny days — about 70% fewer than the August peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantAug 3126 daysDec 147 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan8Mixed
Feb8Mixed
Mar12Mixed
Apr17Bright
May23Bright
Jun21Bright
Jul21Bright
Aug25Brilliant
Sep24Brilliant
Oct19Bright
Nov11Mixed
Dec8Gloomy

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

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.9 months, from around November 11 to April 7. The muggiest month is January, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 69% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around April 8 to November 10, and May is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 99% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 18 · 100%Jan 19 · 31%muggyhumidcomfortabledryhumidcomfortablehumid
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan7254028
Feb8294023
Mar14363812
Apr4933162
May91810
Jun100000
Jul100000
Aug100000
Sep93610
Oct742150
Nov3730303
Dec12254419

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 Shurugwi is typically calm, near 10 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 3.4 months, from around Aug 15 to Nov 24. The windiest month is October, averaging about 12 km/h (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Apr 8 to Aug 14, with May the calmest month at about 9 km/h.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezeOct 13 · 12 km/hMay 26 · 9 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan10calm
Feb11calm
Mar11calm
Apr10calm
May9calm
Jun9calm
Jul10calm
Aug10calm
Sep11calm
Oct12calm
Nov11calm
Dec10calm

Hazard calendar for Shurugwi

In seasonPeak

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

Shurugwi's monsoon runs November–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 Shurugwi

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid April, Shurugwi 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 Shurugwi 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 13 · 9.2

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
Jan5.4fair
Feb5.8good
Mar6.4good
Apr7.8ideal
May8.8ideal
Jun8.4ideal
Jul8.2ideal
Aug9.0ideal
Sep7.9ideal
Oct6.3good
Nov5.3fair
Dec5.3fair

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 Shurugwi for hot-weather activities run from mid April to mid May and again from early August to mid November, with a peak score in the second week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 14 · 8.5

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 Shurugwi, 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 29°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around July (highs near 21°C), pack a warm layer.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In October, Shurugwi sees daytime highs around 29°C and nights near 16°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. About 7 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Shurugwi 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 Shurugwi peaks around January 16 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 19 at about 7 (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 19UV 7
UV index (midday)Level
Jan16Extreme
Feb14Extreme
Mar14Extreme
Apr10Extreme
May8Very high
Jun7High
Jul8Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep10Very high
Oct12Extreme
Nov14Extreme
Dec14Extreme

Average hourly UV index in Shurugwi

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
Mar86.5
Apr7.55
May6.54
Jun63
Jul63.5
Aug6.54.5
Sep75
Oct86
Nov97
Dec97

Air quality in Shurugwi 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 Shurugwi is worst in September — around 22 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 5.2× the cleanest month (January, 4 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodSep 1721 µg/m³Jan 14 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan4Good
Feb5Good
Mar5Good
Apr6Good
May7Good
Jun9Good
Jul10Good
Aug15Moderate
Sep22Moderate
Oct17Moderate
Nov8Good
Dec4Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Shurugwi 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. Shurugwi banks about 3,504 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around November.

01,0002,0003,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan383
Feb337
Mar345
Apr275
May212
Jun141
Jul131
Aug216
Sep311
Oct381
Nov386
Dec387

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.

Shurugwi receives about 5.6 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.1 and 6.8 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.7 months, from around Aug 23 to Mar 13. The brightest month is October, averaging about 6.7 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is July, down near 4.4 kWh/m² — roughly 34% less than the October peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbrighterdimmerbrighterdimmoderatebrightintenseOct 266.8 kWhJul 34.1 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan6.1Intense
Feb6.1Intense
Mar5.6Bright
Apr5.2Bright
May4.8Bright
Jun4.3Bright
Jul4.3Bright
Aug5.4Bright
Sep6.3Intense
Oct6.8Intense
Nov6.5Intense
Dec6.2Intense

Where is Shurugwi?

Shurugwi sits at 19.7°S, 30.0°E, 1,483 m above sea level, in Zimbabwe. The nearest listed city is Gweru, 32 km away.

ZvishavaneRedcliffKwekweMasvingoKadomaBulawayoChegutu

Topography around Shurugwi

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Shurugwi has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 321 m around an average of 1,433 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 493 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 765 m.

The land around Shurugwi is covered by trees (56%) and shrubs (34%) within 3 km, trees (40%) and shrubs (36%) within 16 km, and shrubs (45%) and grassland (28%) within 80 km.

3 km
321 m
16 km
493 m
80 km
765 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
Nearby: Gweru 32 km · Zvishavane 73 km · Redcliff 75 km · Kwekwe 85 km · Masvingo 96 km · Kadoma 149 km · Bulawayo 158 km · Chegutu 172 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 Shurugwi (-19.6702°, 30.0059°, elevation 1,483 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).