Climate averages 1991–2020
Chipata weather
in May.
A warm, very dry month: the 10th warmest and the 5th driest of the year. Meets the pleasant-weather rule
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a warm month in Chipata: daytime highs average 25.0°C and nights cool to about 14.8°C. By daytime temperature it is the 10th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 4.7 mm of rain on roughly 1 day, which makes May a very dry month (the 5th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 11 h 30 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Lilongwe (128 km away). In May its highs average 24.8°C, about as warm as Chipata, with 3.5 mm of rain.
Among the 24 cities listed in Zambia, Chipata ranks joint 14th of 24 for the warmest May highs and 21st of 24 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 24 cities is 25.3°C; Chipata is 0.3°C cooler than that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 1.5°C to 23.6°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 4.7 mm to under 1 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
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, selected | 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 | 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
May in nearby cities
- Lilongwe in MayMalawi · 128 kmHigh 24.8°C · Low 13.5°C · 3.5 mm rain
- Lichinga in MayMozambique · 282 kmHigh 22.7°C · Low 12.2°C · 8.9 mm rain
- Mzuzu in MayMalawi · 283 kmHigh 21.4°C · Low 13.7°C · 50 mm rain
- Tete in MayMozambique · 298 kmHigh 29.9°C · Low 19.7°C · 3.3 mm rain
- Mandimba in MayMozambique · 333 kmHigh 25.6°C · Low 15.8°C · 6.4 mm rain
- Zomba in MayMalawi · 347 kmHigh 24.4°C · Low 14.8°C · 4.8 mm rain
- Blantyre in MayMalawi · 349 kmHigh 23.1°C · Low 13.6°C · 14 mm rain
- Kasama in MayZambia · 413 kmHigh 25.0°C · Low 13.4°C · 8.1 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.