Climate averages 1991–2020
Lilongwe weather
in December.
A warm, wet month: the 4th warmest and the 10th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a warm month in Lilongwe: daytime highs average 27.2°C and nights cool to about 18.6°C. By daytime temperature it is the 4th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 142 mm of rain on roughly 19 days, which makes December a wet month (the 10th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 12 h 56 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Chipata (128 km away). In December its highs average 27.0°C, about as warm as Lilongwe, with 240 mm of rain.
Among the 4 cities listed in Malawi, Lilongwe ranks 2nd of 4 for the warmest December highs and 1st of 4 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 4 cities is 26.5°C; Lilongwe is 0.7°C warmer than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 1.6°C to 25.6°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 142 mm to 208 mm.
The annual picture
December in context
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, selected | 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
December in nearby cities
- Chipata in DecemberZambia · 128 kmHigh 27.0°C · Low 18.8°C · 240 mm rain
- Lichinga in DecemberMozambique · 173 kmHigh 24.7°C · Low 17.0°C · 236 mm rain
- Mandimba in DecemberMozambique · 205 kmHigh 28.7°C · Low 20.4°C · 204 mm rain
- Zomba in DecemberMalawi · 228 kmHigh 27.5°C · Low 20.0°C · 179 mm rain
- Blantyre in DecemberMalawi · 241 kmHigh 26.7°C · Low 19.1°C · 225 mm rain
- Tete in DecemberMozambique · 244 kmHigh 33.4°C · Low 24.5°C · 144 mm rain
- Mzuzu in DecemberMalawi · 279 kmHigh 24.7°C · Low 17.3°C · 246 mm rain
- Cuamba in DecemberMozambique · 310 kmHigh 30.2°C · Low 21.6°C · 178 mm rain
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 limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Lilongwe) is explained once on the Lilongwe year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.