Climate averages 1991–2020
Bulawayo 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 Bulawayo: daytime highs average 23.1°C and nights cool to about 10.8°C. By daytime temperature it is the 10th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 6.3 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 10 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Gweru (151 km away). In May its highs average 22.0°C, 1.1°C cooler than Bulawayo, with 6.8 mm of rain.
Among the 11 cities listed in Zimbabwe, Bulawayo ranks joint 5th of 11 for the warmest May highs and 5th of 11 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 11 cities is 23.1°C; Bulawayo is 0.1°C cooler than that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 2.2°C to 20.8°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 6.3 mm to 4.0 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
Bulawayo climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26.6°C17.1°C | 17.1°C | 134 | 14.9 | 13.213 h |
| February | 26.3°C16.9°C | 16.9°C | 111 | 11.9 | 12.813 h |
| March | 25.9°C16.0°C | 16.0°C | 65 | 9.4 | 12.212 h |
| April | 24.6°C13.6°C | 13.6°C | 23 | 4.0 | 11.612 h |
| May, selected | 23.1°C10.8°C | 10.8°C | 6.3 | 1.3 | 11.211 h |
| June | 20.8°C8.5°C | 8.5°C | 4.0 | 0.8 | 10.911 h |
| July | 20.3°C7.8°C | 7.8°C | 2.6 | 0.7 | 11.011 h |
| August | 24.2°C10.0°C | 10.0°C | 0.9 | 0.2 | 11.411 h |
| September | 28.1°C13.2°C | 13.2°C | 5.3 | 1.4 | 12.012 h |
| October | 29.6°C15.5°C | 15.5°C | 23 | 5.5 | 12.513 h |
| November | 28.6°C16.8°C | 16.8°C | 87 | 12.6 | 13.113 h |
| December | 26.9°C17.0°C | 17.0°C | 148 | 17.0 | 13.313 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
- Gweru in MayZimbabwe · 151 kmHigh 22.0°C · Low 10.5°C · 6.8 mm rain
- Francistown in MayBotswana · 159 kmHigh 25.1°C · Low 12.2°C · 4.2 mm rain
- Kwekwe in MayZimbabwe · 187 kmHigh 24.9°C · Low 12.2°C · 5.4 mm rain
- Masvingo in MayZimbabwe · 235 kmHigh 23.1°C · Low 11.2°C · 9.3 mm rain
- Kadoma in MayZimbabwe · 246 kmHigh 25.0°C · Low 13.7°C · 5.1 mm rain
- Norton in MayZimbabwe · 336 kmHigh 23.3°C · Low 12.3°C · 6.5 mm rain
- Louis Trichardt in MaySouth Africa · 350 kmHigh 23.7°C · Low 12.3°C · 10 mm rain
- Chinhoyi in MayZimbabwe · 353 kmHigh 24.8°C · Low 13.0°C · 3.7 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 Bulawayo) is explained once on the Bulawayo year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.