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The weather in Botswana and Victoria Falls is very similar. Generally it is
sunny and warm throughout the year but it can be cold at night in winter. Southern
Africa has winter during the Northern Hemisphere's summer i.e.. from late May
until August - yes it is a very short winter. However a better differentiation
is to talk of a wet and dry season.
The wet season runs from anytime after 15 November until 15 April.
The rest of the year is basically dry. The driest months are October and November
when the day time temperatures can reach into the 40's C (110 F) but the game
viewing is the best as most animals are near the permanent water. However rain
can and does fall anytime but out of the rainy season it does not last long.
| Weather
Summary for Northern Botswana
Based on 78 years of data measured in Maun. |
| |
Temperature |
Rainfall |
| |
Max ºC |
Min ºC |
Average
(mm) |
Average
(inches) |
Highest
(mm) |
Lowest
(mm) |
| January |
32 |
19 |
113 |
4.4 |
396 |
14 |
| February |
31 |
19 |
102 |
4.0 |
427 |
7 |
| March |
31 |
18 |
66 |
2.6 |
274 |
0 |
| April |
31 |
14 |
25 |
1.0 |
120 |
0 |
| May |
28 |
9 |
4 |
0.2 |
34 |
0 |
| June |
25 |
6 |
1 |
0.0 |
17 |
0 |
| July |
25 |
6 |
0 |
0.0 |
6 |
0 |
| August |
28 |
9 |
1 |
0.0 |
22 |
0 |
| September |
33 |
13 |
3 |
0.1 |
32 |
0 |
| October |
35 |
18 |
16 |
0.6 |
101 |
0 |
| November |
34 |
19 |
44 |
1.7 |
170 |
1 |
| December |
32 |
19 |
78 |
3.1 |
262 |
13 |
| Mean annual |
30 |
14 |
451 |
17.8 |
|
|
| |
| Extremes |
| |
Rainfall (mm) |
Year |
| Wettest year |
1188 |
1972 |
| Driest year |
187 |
1995 |
|
The wettest time is from December
to mid March. The bulk of the rainfall is in the form of spectacular thunder
showers falling from billowing storm clouds in the late afternoon.
The rain falls for anything from 10 - 90 minutes and then stops and the
weather clears up quickly.
Drizzle and protracted cloudy weather is very unusual at any time of
the year. The climatic behavior in Africa, is very different to most other
regions of the world, with wild extremes. Therefore one cannot rely on
these tables and they serve as a guide only.
Northern Botswana lies in the semi-desert of the Kalahari region. What
makes it a game and wilderness paradise are the rivers that run into these
arid plains turning them into oases in the desert. |
The mean annual rainfall is indicated as just under 450 mm (18 inches)
which marks the area as arid. However in the middle of the Okavango the area
looks nothing like arid until the end of winter.
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