Climate averages 1991–2020
Zanzibar weather
in May.
A warm, wet month: the 9th warmest and the 11th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a warm month in Zanzibar: daytime highs average 27.7°C and nights cool to about 24.3°C. By daytime temperature it is the 9th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 146 mm of rain on roughly 19 days, which makes May a wet month (the 11th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 11 h 50 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Bagamoyo (45 km away). In May its highs average 28.4°C, 0.7°C warmer than Zanzibar, with 130 mm of rain.
Among the 43 cities listed in Tanzania, Zanzibar ranks 15th of 43 for the warmest May highs and 41st of 43 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 43 cities is 26.1°C; Zanzibar is 1.7°C warmer than that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 0.3°C to 27.4°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 146 mm to 35 mm.
The annual picture
May 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 | 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, selected | 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
May in nearby cities
- Bagamoyo in MayTanzania · 45 kmHigh 28.4°C · Low 22.9°C · 130 mm rain
- Dar es Salaam in MayTanzania · 74 kmHigh 28.2°C · Low 23.6°C · 152 mm rain
- Kibaha in MayTanzania · 74 kmHigh 28.0°C · Low 21.9°C · 128 mm rain
- Vikindu in MayTanzania · 94 kmHigh 27.5°C · Low 23.4°C · 130 mm rain
- Tanga in MayTanzania · 122 kmHigh 28.0°C · Low 23.2°C · 165 mm rain
- Handeni in MayTanzania · 154 kmHigh 25.2°C · Low 19.2°C · 123 mm rain
- Morogoro in MayTanzania · 185 kmHigh 26.9°C · Low 20.1°C · 59 mm rain
- Ukunda in MayKenya · 212 kmHigh 27.5°C · Low 24.0°C · 220 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.