Climate averages 1991–2020
Chipata weather
in December.
A warm, very wet month: the 4th warmest and the 11th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a warm month in Chipata: daytime highs average 27.0°C and nights cool to about 18.8°C. By daytime temperature it is the 4th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 240 mm of rain on roughly 25 days, which makes December a very wet month (the 11th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 12 h 55 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Lilongwe (128 km away). In December its highs average 27.2°C, about as warm as Chipata, with 142 mm of rain.
Among the 24 cities listed in Zambia, Chipata ranks 5th of 24 for the warmest December highs and 13th of 24 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 24 cities is 26.2°C; Chipata is 0.8°C warmer than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 1.8°C to 25.2°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 240 mm to 279 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
Chipata climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25.2°C18.3°C | 18.3°C | 279 | 27.4 | 12.813 h |
| February | 25.3°C18.0°C | 18.0°C | 221 | 22.9 | 12.513 h |
| March | 25.4°C17.7°C | 17.7°C | 166 | 21.5 | 12.212 h |
| April | 25.1°C16.5°C | 16.5°C | 35 | 7.3 | 11.812 h |
| May | 25.0°C14.8°C | 14.8°C | 4.7 | 1.2 | 11.511 h |
| June | 23.6°C12.8°C | 12.8°C | 0.6 | 0.1 | 11.311 h |
| July | 23.3°C12.2°C | 12.2°C | 0.7 | 0.2 | 11.411 h |
| August | 25.9°C14.0°C | 14.0°C | 0.9 | 0.2 | 11.712 h |
| September | 29.1°C16.9°C | 16.9°C | 1.8 | 0.4 | 12.012 h |
| October | 30.8°C19.2°C | 19.2°C | 18 | 3.4 | 12.412 h |
| November | 30.4°C19.9°C | 19.9°C | 78 | 12.0 | 12.713 h |
| December, selected | 27.0°C18.8°C | 18.8°C | 240 | 25.2 | 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
- Lilongwe in DecemberMalawi · 128 kmHigh 27.2°C · Low 18.6°C · 142 mm rain
- Lichinga in DecemberMozambique · 282 kmHigh 24.7°C · Low 17.0°C · 236 mm rain
- Mzuzu in DecemberMalawi · 283 kmHigh 24.7°C · Low 17.3°C · 246 mm rain
- Tete in DecemberMozambique · 298 kmHigh 33.4°C · Low 24.5°C · 144 mm rain
- Mandimba in DecemberMozambique · 333 kmHigh 28.7°C · Low 20.4°C · 204 mm rain
- Zomba in DecemberMalawi · 347 kmHigh 27.5°C · Low 20.0°C · 179 mm rain
- Blantyre in DecemberMalawi · 349 kmHigh 26.7°C · Low 19.1°C · 225 mm rain
- Kasama in DecemberZambia · 413 kmHigh 25.8°C · Low 16.7°C · 267 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 Chipata) is explained once on the Chipata year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.