Climate averages 1991–2020
Zanzibar weather
in January.
A hot, moderately wet month: the 3rd warmest and the 6th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
January is a hot month in Zanzibar: daytime highs average 30.0°C and nights cool to about 26.1°C. By daytime temperature it is the 3rd warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 43 mm of rain on roughly 10 days, which makes January a moderately wet month (the 6th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 12 h 26 min on an average January day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Bagamoyo (45 km away). In January its highs average 30.7°C, 0.7°C warmer than Zanzibar, with 49 mm of rain.
Among the 43 cities listed in Tanzania, Zanzibar ranks 12th of 43 for the warmest January highs and 2nd of 43 for the driest January (rainfall, lowest first). The mean January high of those 43 cities is 27.1°C; Zanzibar is 2.9°C warmer than that mean.
From January to February, average highs rise by 0.5°C to 30.5°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 43 mm to 36 mm.
The annual picture
January 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
Zanzibar climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January, selected | 30.0°C26.1°C | 26.1°C | 43 | 9.7 | 12.412 h |
| February | 30.5°C26.2°C | 26.2°C | 36 | 7.7 | 12.312 h |
| March | 30.1°C25.7°C | 25.7°C | 122 | 21.0 | 12.112 h |
| April | 28.6°C24.9°C | 24.9°C | 200 | 25.5 | 12.012 h |
| May | 27.7°C24.3°C | 24.3°C | 146 | 18.8 | 11.812 h |
| June | 27.4°C23.5°C | 23.5°C | 35 | 9.6 | 11.812 h |
| July | 27.3°C22.8°C | 22.8°C | 22 | 6.4 | 11.812 h |
| August | 27.6°C22.6°C | 22.6°C | 21 | 6.2 | 11.912 h |
| September | 28.5°C23.1°C | 23.1°C | 19 | 5.4 | 12.112 h |
| October | 29.2°C23.9°C | 23.9°C | 52 | 9.8 | 12.212 h |
| November | 29.3°C24.7°C | 24.7°C | 84 | 18.0 | 12.412 h |
| December | 29.6°C25.5°C | 25.5°C | 93 | 20.3 | 12.512 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
January in nearby cities
- Bagamoyo in JanuaryTanzania · 45 kmHigh 30.7°C · Low 25.2°C · 49 mm rain
- Dar es Salaam in JanuaryTanzania · 74 kmHigh 30.8°C · Low 25.4°C · 53 mm rain
- Kibaha in JanuaryTanzania · 74 kmHigh 31.1°C · Low 24.1°C · 60 mm rain
- Vikindu in JanuaryTanzania · 94 kmHigh 30.8°C · Low 25.2°C · 54 mm rain
- Tanga in JanuaryTanzania · 122 kmHigh 32.6°C · Low 25.1°C · 31 mm rain
- Handeni in JanuaryTanzania · 154 kmHigh 30.5°C · Low 21.0°C · 119 mm rain
- Morogoro in JanuaryTanzania · 185 kmHigh 30.6°C · Low 22.3°C · 110 mm rain
- Ukunda in JanuaryKenya · 212 kmHigh 31.5°C · Low 25.0°C · 24 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 Zanzibar) is explained once on the Zanzibar year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.