Climate

Primarily due to its high altitude, Lusaka features a humid subtropical climate(Cwa) according to Köppen climate classification. Its coldest month, July, has a monthly average temperature of 16°C, a couple of degrees shy of what would constitute a tropical climate, specifically a tropical savanna climate. Lusaka features a relatively warm climate, typically with warm (but not hot) summers and very mild “winters”. The city’s warmest month, October, sees monthly average high temperatures at around 32°C. Lusaka features a wet season and a dry season with the dry season predominating the year, lasting from October through April.

Climate data for Lusaka Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °C (°F) 39.6 (103.3) 36.4 (97.5) 33.6 (92.5) 33.0 (91.4) 32.0 (89.6) 29.9 (85.8) 29.7 (85.5) 33.5 (92.3) 38.5 (101.3) 37.2 (99) 38.6 (101.5) 33.9 (93) 39.6 (103.3) Average high °C (°F) 27.4 (81.3) 27.4 (81.3) 27.5 (81.5) 27.1 (80.8) 25.8 (78.4) 23.8 (74.8) 24.0 (75.2) 26.5 (79.7) 30.3 (86.5) 31.7 (89.1) 30.4 (86.7) 27.7 (81.9) 27.5 (81.5) Daily mean °C (°F) 21.5 (70.7) 21.5 (70.7) 21.1 (70) 19.9 (67.8) 17.4 (63.3) 15.2 (59.4) 14.9 (58.8) 17.3 (63.1) 21.3 (70.3) 23.5 (74.3) 23.4 (74.1) 21.7 (71.1) 19.9 (67.8) Average low °C (°F) 17.6 (63.7) 17.4 (63.3) 16.4 (61.5) 14.0 (57.2) 10.7 (51.3) 7.8 (46) 7.2 (45) 9.2 (48.6) 12.9 (55.2) 16.2 (61.2) 17.4 (63.3) 17.8 (64) 13.7 (56.7) Record low °C (°F) 13.0 (55.4) 12.9 (55.2) 10.0 (50) 8.0 (46.4) 5.4 (41.7) 0.2 (32.4) 0.7 (33.3) 2.8 (37) 5.8 (42.4) 9.0 (48.2) 10.8 (51.4) 10.4 (50.7) 0.2 (32.4) Precipitation mm (inches) 245.4 (9.661) 185.9 (7.319) 95.0 (3.74) 34.7 (1.366) 3.1 (0.122) 0.0 (0) 0.1 (0.004) 0.4 (0.016) 1.7 (0.067) 18.4 (0.724) 89.3 (3.516) 208.1 (8.193) 882.1 (34.728) Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 18 15 10 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 8 16 72  % humidity 82.3 82.5 80.7 75.8 69.3 65.2 61.1 53.6 46.3 48.6 60.2 78.6 67.0 Mean monthly sunshine hours 176.7 168.0 220.1 246.0 275.9 270.0 294.5 303.8 291.0 272.8 234.0 182.9 2,935.7 Source: NOAA