Climate averages 1991–2020
Lilongwe weather
by month.
See how the year changes. November has the highest average daily maximum; August has the lowest average monthly rainfall.
Pleasant-weather months by our simple rule: AprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptember
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
Across the year Lilongwe averages a daytime high of 25.9°C and a nighttime low of 15.6°C, with about 701 mm of rain on roughly 98 days. November is the warmest month (average high 29.6°C) and July the coolest (22.6°C). January is the wettest month with 208 mm; August is the driest with under 1 mm.
Months with pleasant weather by a simple rule (average high between 18°C and 29°C, average low of at least 5°C and at most 8 rain days): April, May, June, July, August and September. This looks at temperature and rain only, not humidity, wind, sea temperature or crowds.
The annual picture
A year in Lilongwe
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Lilongwe climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25.6°C18.1°C | 18.1°C | 208 | 25.0 | 12.813 h |
| February | 25.5°C17.8°C | 17.8°C | 159 | 20.4 | 12.613 h |
| March | 25.3°C17.4°C | 17.4°C | 113 | 17.2 | 12.212 h |
| April | 25.2°C15.7°C | 15.7°C | 23 | 5.3 | 11.812 h |
| May | 24.8°C13.5°C | 13.5°C | 3.5 | 0.7 | 11.511 h |
| June | 23.1°C11.4°C | 11.4°C | 0.7 | 0.1 | 11.311 h |
| July | 22.6°C10.8°C | 10.8°C | 1.0 | 0.2 | 11.411 h |
| August | 24.7°C12.2°C | 12.2°C | 0.6 | 0.1 | 11.612 h |
| September | 27.4°C14.9°C | 14.9°C | 1.3 | 0.3 | 12.012 h |
| October | 29.2°C17.6°C | 17.6°C | 9.9 | 1.7 | 12.412 h |
| November | 29.6°C18.9°C | 18.9°C | 39 | 7.3 | 12.713 h |
| December | 27.2°C18.6°C | 18.6°C | 142 | 19.2 | 12.913 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
Nearby cities
- ChipataZambia · 128 kmHigh 26.3°C · Low 16.6°C · 1,046 mm rain a year
- LichingaMozambique · 173 kmHigh 23.9°C · Low 14.3°C · 1,120 mm rain a year
- MandimbaMozambique · 205 kmHigh 27.2°C · Low 17.6°C · 1,062 mm rain a year
- ZombaMalawi · 228 kmHigh 25.9°C · Low 16.9°C · 860 mm rain a year
- BlantyreMalawi · 241 kmHigh 25.0°C · Low 15.9°C · 1,139 mm rain a year
- TeteMozambique · 244 kmHigh 31.7°C · Low 21.7°C · 658 mm rain a year
- MzuzuMalawi · 279 kmHigh 23.2°C · Low 15.0°C · 1,429 mm rain a year
- CuambaMozambique · 310 kmHigh 28.7°C · Low 18.8°C · 833 mm rain a year
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsWhat do the high and low temperatures mean?
We average the daily maximum and daily minimum for each calendar month over 1991–2020. They are not record extremes, a forecast range or temperatures at a fixed time of day.
How is a rain day counted?
A local calendar day (standard time, UTC+2, no daylight saving) with at least 1 mm of total precipitation counts as one rain day. We count these for each year and month, then average across 30 years. The average does not predict which days will be wet.
Where do the numbers come from?
ERA5-Land (temperature) and ERA5 (precipitation) reanalysis from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, read from the Open-Meteo open-data archive. Temperature comes from the 0.1° model cell at -14.00°, 33.80° (4 km from the city centre), adjusted up by 0.1°C for the difference between the city's elevation (1,056 m) and the cell's (1,069 m). Rain comes from the 0.25° cell at -14.00°, 33.75°. These are model estimates, not weather-station readings; coast, hills and city streets can differ.
Does this page show sunshine, humidity or sea temperature?
No. The data used here contain air temperature and precipitation only. Daylight hours are calculated from the city's latitude (sunrise to sunset), not measured sunshine.