Zimbabwe: Weather

With weather conditions the world over becoming more unpredictable this safari calendar should be used as a guideline only.

Zimbabwe lies south of the equator which makes it the perfect destination for  anyone wanting to escape from the long, cold, grey winter months of the northern hemisphere.

Nature has given Zimbabwe one of the finest climates in the world.   Beautiful year round it’s warm without being oppressive with a daily sunshine average of seven hours. Generally, days are bright and sunny and nights clear and cool to cold depending on the time of year.   Temperatures and rainfall are directly influenced by altitude. The highveld and eastern highlands are cooler and the lowveld and the Zambezi Valley hotter, with summer temperatures often soaring over 35°C, well above the highveld average of 28°C.

November to March: are the summer months when it’s wet and muggy.  One can expect heavy afternoon thunderstorms that are over as quickly as they arrive.  Exciting electrical storms can be experienced.

In November/December the water level of the Zambezi River has dropped which means the Falls are their lowest and least impressive.   Although there is always water on the Zimbabwe side there may be sections that are dry.   Depending on the rains in Angola the Zambezi River will start to rise in January and February and peak in March or April.

April: the rains are coming to an end.   The Victoria Falls is at its highest flow with an average of 500 million litres of water per minute plunging over the lip of the falls.  When the flow is at its highest so is the spray, created by a tremendous up draught in the gorge it can be seen for up to 30 kms away.  Due to the massive cloud of spray the falls are difficult to view from the ground but are a magnificent sight when seen from the air.

May to July:   these are lovely dry months with clear skies and cool to cold winter evenings.  One can expect really great game viewing. July through to September are the best months for viewing the falls

 August to October: it starts to warm up in August and by October it can be really hot.  These are peak game viewing months as animals are easy to spot in the thinning vegetation or as they congregate around water holes.   Migrant birds arrive around September.  The sight of thousands of carmine bee-eaters nesting in the sand banks of the Zambezi River is something special.