Climate and average weather in Zvishavane

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

Best: mid April to mid September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Zvishavane typically varies from 8°C to 30°C, and is rarely below 5°C or above 36°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 Zvishavane for warm-weather activities is from mid April to mid September.

Hottest
Oct
30°
Coldest
Jul
Wettest
Dec
149 mm
Driest
Aug
5 mm
Rain / yr
692 mm
96 wet days
Daylight
10.8–13.2 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
998 m
20.3°S
Clearest
Aug
21% cloud

Zvishavane is human settlement in Zimbabwe.

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

Zvishavane 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 mid September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 5.2 months, from September 11 to February 15, with daily high temperatures above 28°C. The hottest month of the year in Zvishavane is October, with an average high of 30°C and low of 16°C.

The cool season lasts 1.8 months, from June 5 to July 30, with daily high temperatures below 23°C. The coldest month of the year in Zvishavane is July, with an average low of 8°C and high of 22°C.

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

10°20°30°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2819
Feb2818
Mar2717
Apr2614
May2411
Jun229
Jul228
Aug2510
Sep2814
Oct3016
Nov3018
Dec2918

Average hourly temperature in Zvishavane

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 C.

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

Zvishavane 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° / 19°14315.813.15.1
Feb28° / 18°1141312.75.6
Mar27° / 17°8312.112.16.3
Apr26° / 14°366.711.57.5
May24° / 11°122.9118.7
Jun22° / 102.510.88.5
Jul22° / 133.210.98.3
Aug25° / 10°51.911.38.9
Sep28° / 14°123.111.97.5
Oct30° / 16°276.112.56.0
Nov30° / 18°8912.4134.9
Dec29° / 18°14916.513.24.8

Chance of rain

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

Zvishavane gets about 692 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 5.3 months, from around Oct 30 to Apr 9, peaking in December at about 54% 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 149 mm over about 17 wet days; August is the driest, with 5 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetDec 12 · 54%Aug 5 · 6%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan5116
Feb4613
Mar3912
Apr227
May103
Jun93
Jul93
Aug62
Sep103
Oct216
Nov4012
Dec5317

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Zvishavane collects about 692 mm of rain across 96 wet days — roughly 58 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. December is the wettest month with 149 mm, while August is the driest at just 5 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 59% of the year’s total.

0255075100125150175JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec14311483361210135122789149
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan14316
Feb11413
Mar8312
Apr367
May123
Jun103
Jul133
Aug52
Sep123
Oct276
Nov8912
Dec14917

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Zvishavane, 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 13 and lasts for 6.5 months, ending around October 27. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 86% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 28 and lasts for 5.5 months, ending around April 12. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 59% 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 31 · 90%Dec 10 · 39%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4753
Feb5347
Mar6139
Apr7129
May8317
Jun8218
Jul7723
Aug8614
Sep8515
Oct7426
Nov5347
Dec4159

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 3, 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)
Jan13.15:366:42
Feb12.75:546:35
Mar12.16:056:14
Apr11.56:145:46
May11.06:255:27
Jun10.86:375:23
Jul10.96:395:32
Aug11.36:255:43
Sep11.95:575:51
Oct12.55:315:59
Nov13.05:166:14
Dec13.25:196:33

Sunny days

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

Zvishavane 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 25 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.4 months, from around Apr 14 to Oct 26. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 23 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is December, down near 8 sunny days — about 66% fewer than the September peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantSep 225 daysDec 127 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan9Mixed
Feb9Mixed
Mar12Mixed
Apr16Bright
May22Bright
Jun21Bright
Jul20Bright
Aug24Brilliant
Sep23Brilliant
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 Zvishavane, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 5.0 months, from around November 9 to April 10. The muggiest month is December, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 67% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around April 11 to November 8, 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 25 · 100%Dec 30 · 25%muggyhumidcomfortabledryhumidcomfortablehumid
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan5213340
Feb5233735
Mar9314021
Apr4136204
May861310
Jun98200
Jul99100
Aug98200
Sep881110
Oct642790
Nov3428299
Dec10233532

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

The windier part of the year lasts 3.7 months, from around Aug 15 to Dec 5. The windiest month is October, averaging about 12 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Mar 17 to Aug 14, with May the calmest month at about 9 km/h.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezeOct 14 · 12 km/hMay 25 · 9 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan11calm
Feb10calm
Mar10calm
Apr10calm
May9calm
Jun9calm
Jul9calm
Aug10calm
Sep12calm
Oct12light breeze
Nov11calm
Dec10calm

Hazard calendar for Zvishavane

In seasonPeak

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

Zvishavane's rainy season runs November–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Zvishavane

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

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

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 9 · 9.0

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
Jan5.1fair
Feb5.6good
Mar6.3good
Apr7.6ideal
May8.7ideal
Jun8.5ideal
Jul8.3ideal
Aug8.8ideal
Sep7.5good
Oct5.9good
Nov5.0fair
Dec4.8fair

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

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 13 · 8.7

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 Zvishavane, 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 a light layer.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In October, Zvishavane sees daytime highs around 30°C and nights near 16°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. About 6 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Zvishavane 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 Zvishavane peaks around January 17 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 19 at about 7 (high).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highHighVery highExtremeJan 17UV 15Jun 19UV 7
UV index (midday)Level
Jan15Extreme
Feb14Extreme
Mar13Extreme
Apr10Very high
May8Very high
Jun7High
Jul7Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep9Very high
Oct11Extreme
Nov14Extreme
Dec14Extreme

Average hourly UV index in Zvishavane

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
Apr7.55
May6.53.5
Jun62.5
Jul63
Aug6.54
Sep75
Oct86
Nov8.57
Dec97

Air quality in Zvishavane 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 Zvishavane is worst in September — around 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.9× the cleanest month (January, 4 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodSep 1616 µg/m³Jan 14 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan4Good
Feb6Good
Mar5Good
Apr7Good
May9Good
Jun10Good
Jul11Good
Aug13Moderate
Sep17Moderate
Oct13Moderate
Nov7Good
Dec4Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Zvishavane 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. Zvishavane banks about 3,817 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)
Jan416
Feb367
Mar375
Apr301
May239
Jun166
Jul155
Aug239
Sep328
Oct401
Nov411
Dec418

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.

Zvishavane receives about 5.5 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 3.9 and 6.6 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.7 months, from around Aug 25 to Mar 15. The brightest month is November, averaging about 6.3 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is July, down near 4.2 kWh/m² — roughly 33% less than the November peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbrighterdimmerbrighterdimmoderatebrightintenseNov 16.6 kWhJul 33.9 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan6.1Intense
Feb6.0Bright
Mar5.5Bright
Apr5.0Bright
May4.7Bright
Jun4.1Bright
Jul4.1Bright
Aug5.2Bright
Sep6.0Intense
Oct6.5Intense
Nov6.3Intense
Dec6.1Intense

Where is Zvishavane?

Zvishavane sits at 20.3°S, 30.1°E, 998 m above sea level, in Zimbabwe. The nearest listed city is Shurugwi, 73 km away.

ShurugwiMasvingoGweruGwandaRedcliffBulawayoKwekweChiredzi

Topography around Zvishavane

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Zvishavane has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 270 m around an average of 958 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 486 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 986 m.

The land around Zvishavane is covered by shrubs (41%) and trees (30%) within 3 km, shrubs (47%) and trees (39%) within 16 km, and shrubs (43%), trees (23%) and grassland (23%) within 80 km.

3 km
270 m
16 km
486 m
80 km
986 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
Nearby: Shurugwi 73 km · Masvingo 85 km · Gweru 101 km · Gwanda 129 km · Redcliff 147 km · Bulawayo 156 km · Kwekwe 158 km · Chiredzi 185 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 Zvishavane (-20.3267°, 30.0665°, elevation 998 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).