The climate of Mozambique: when to go to Mozambique

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The climate of Mozambique is humid tropical climate in the northern and central areas, tropical altitude climate in the areas close to the border with Zimbabwe, and dry sub-tropical climate in the southern regions. The country has a rather homogeneous climate if one excludes the decrease of rains inland and the decrease of temperatures based on height.

The climate of Mozambique is influenced by three main factors. The first is the difference in altitude between the coasts and the highlands of the interior. The second factor is the hot current that bathes the coasts of the country and which mitigates the differences in temperature. Finally, the third factor is the regime of the trade winds that blow from the south-east and that cause monsoon rains.

From a climatic point of view what differentiates the seasons is the amount of rain that falls. Mozambique has a two-season climate. A wet and rainy season, which generally runs from November to April, and a dry season, between May and October. The temperatures instead remain fairly stable during the year with differences of a few degrees between the various seasons and between day and night.

A TROPICAL CLIMATE WITH VERY VARIABLE PRECIPITATIONS

Annual rainfall records values of just over 600 mm in Tete, one of the hottest places in the country, where in October and November the maximum average temperatures exceed 36 ° C. Along the southern and northern coasts there are around 800 mm / 900 mm of annual rainfall, while in the central coastal area it exceeds 1,500 mm per year. In the highlands of the interior, rainfall averages around 1,100 mm per year. Along the coast, cyclones are common during the rainy season.

THE TEMPERATURES OF MOZAMBIQUE

Temperatures vary according to altitude. The average maximum temperatures vary between 30 ° C and 24 ° C along the southern coast and 28 ° C and 31 ° C along the northern coast, here the hottest months are between December and February. In the internal highlands there are values between 27 ° C and 20 ° C, in the central internal plains temperatures are higher, in the Zambesi valley there are values varying between 29 ° C and 36 ° C, in these two areas the hottest months are October and November.

The same thing happens for the minimum average temperatures with values between 14 ° C and 22 ° C in the capital Maputo, between 16 ° C and 24 ° C in Beira along the central coast, and between 18 ° C and 23 ° C in the north coast. June and July are the coldest months. In the highlands the temperatures drop considerably, in Lichinga which is over 1,300 meters high the average minimum temperatures vary between 9 ° C and 16 ° C, July is the coldest month.

The sea water temperature varies between 23 ° C in the winter months and 28 ° C in the summer months.

WHEN TO GO TO MOZAMBIQUE

The best time for a trip to Mozambique are the driest months between May and October which correspond to the local winter.

THE CLIMATE OF MOZAMBIQUE: CLIMATE TABLES

CLIMATE TABLES: MAPUTO

MAPUTO (47 meters)
Month	Average low temperature (° C)	Average high temperature (°C)	Precip. (mm)	Precipitation days
January	22,3	29,9	171,1	8,1
February	22,3	29,6	130,5	7,6
March	21,5	29,3	105,6	7,0
April	19,4	27,8	56,5	4,4
May	16,9	26,4	31,9	2,8
June	14,4	24,6	17,6	2,4
July	14,2	24,4	19,6	1,8
August	15,4	25,3	15,0	2,2
September	17,2	26,1	44,4	3,2
October	18,3	26,5	54,7	5,5
November	19,7	27,4	81,7	7,9
December	21,4	29,1	85,0	7,5
YEAR	18,6	27,2	813,6	60,4

CLIMATE TABLES: BEIRA

BEIRA (14 meters)
Month	Average low temperature (° C)	Average high temperature (°C)	Precip. (mm)	Precipitation days
January	23,8	31,4	250,7	10,8
February	23,7	31,0	302,3	12,5
March	23,2	30,4	274,4	11,7
April	21,3	29,4	139,6	8,2
May	18,4	27,6	84,6	7,0
June	16,2	25,8	48,3	7,2
July	15,7	25,2	47,0	7,7
August	16,6	26,1	42,4	5,4
September	18,4	27,6	24,6	3,4
October	20,3	28,9	38,0	5,1
November	21,8	30,0	110,3	7,3
December	23,0	30,8	231,6	10,2
YEAR	20,2	28,7	1593,8	96,5

CLIMATE TABLES: PEMBA

PEMBA (10 meters)
Month	Average low temperature (° C)	Average high temperature (°C)	Precip. (mm)	Precipitation days
January	23,2	30,8	146,4	11,0
February	23,1	30,9	156,0	10,4
March	22,8	30,8	202,2	12,6
April	22,0	30,4	122,0	9,4
May	20,3	29,5	32,4	3,2
June	18,6	28,3	15,0	2,4
July	18,2	27,7	11,3	1,6
August	19,6	27,8	7,9	1,2
September	19,8	28,7	2,2	0,6
October	21,6	29,5	11,3	1,5
November	23,0	30,4	41,6	3,6
December	23,5	30,8	124,5	8,4
YEAR	21,3	29,6	872,8	65,9

CLIMATE TABLES: TETE

TETE (140 meters)
Month	Average low temperature (° C)	Average high temperature (°C)	Precip. (mm)	Precipitation days
January	23,4	33,5	166,7	10,8
February	23,2	33,2	142,1	9,2
March	22,8	33,3	95,5	6,6
April	21,4	32,7	15,0	2,4
May	18,3	31,0	5,8	0,9
June	16,0	28,6	3,5	1,2
July	15,6	29,0	2,9	1,0
August	17,3	30,5	1,8	0,4
September	20,2	33,6	0,8	0,2
October	22,6	35,8	10,8	1,1
November	23,8	36,2	45,6	4,4
December	23,6	34,5	139,4	9,8
YEAR	20,7	32,7	629,9	47,8

CLIMATE TABLES: LICHINGA

LICHINGA (1398 meters)
Month	Average low temperature (° C)	Average high temperature (°C)	Precip. (mm)	Precipitation days
January	16	24	222
February	16	25	224
March	16	24	201
April	15	24	92
May	12	23	25
June	10	21	3
July	9	20	4
August	10	22	1
September	12	25	3
October	15	27	19
November	16	27	103
December	16	25	234
YEAR	1131