Karonga climate — normals and trends
Karonga (Malawi) has a tropical savanna climate (Aw) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 25.0 °C and it receives 797 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is November (27.2 °C on average) and the coldest is July (21.8 °C). Rainfall peaks in January.
Karonga averages 0 frost days, 10 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 114 rainy days per year.
Karonga has warmed by +0.8 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.09 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The hottest day of the period reached 32.5 °C (on 24 November 2021) and the coldest 17.0 °C (on 4 July 1976).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
KarongaNorthern Region
- coords
- -9.93°, 33.93°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
25.0°C
Average daily high
26.3°C
Average daily low
23.6°C
Annual rainfall
797mm
Sunshine / day
10.7h
Mean relative humidity
68%
Average peak wind
15.4km/h
Seasonal range
5.4°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
0 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
10 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
114 d/yr
Annual snowfall
0.0 cm
Average feels-like high
29.2 °C
Average feels-like low
25.3 °C
Average peak gust
27.3 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
351 d/yr
Solar radiation
20.0 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+0.8 °C
since 1940
+0.1 °C per decade · r² = 0.47 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
32.5 °C
24 November 2021
Coldest day
17.0 °C
4 July 1976
Wettest day
77 mm
1 March 2018
Windiest day
36.6 km/h
18 September 1952
Strongest gust
57.6 km/h
18 September 1952
Hottest feels-like
38.2 °C
25 March 1941
Coldest feels-like
15.7 °C
17 July 2020
Sunniest day
12.6 h
5 December 1940
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28.4 °C | +0.8 °C | 137 mm | -52 mm |
| Feb | 28.8 °C | +1.2 °C | 100 mm | -88 mm |
| Mar | 27.9 °C | +0.9 °C | 264 mm | +85 mm |
| Apr | 27.1 °C | +0.8 °C | 31 mm | -29 mm |
| May | 25.6 °C | +0.3 °C | 25 mm | +13 mm |
| Jun | 24.8 °C | +1.1 °C | 5 mm | +1 mm |
| Jul | 23.4 °C | +0.4 °C | 5 mm | +2 mm |
| Aug | 24.3 °C | +0.1 °C | 0 mm | -1 mm |
| Sep | 27.4 °C | +0.9 °C | 0 mm | -1 mm |
| Oct | 28.4 °C | +0.2 °C | 1 mm | -2 mm |
| Nov | 28.7 °C | 0.0 °C | 44 mm | +11 mm |
| Dec | 28.3 °C | +0.4 °C | 101 mm | -24 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Karonga?
Karonga has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 25.0 °C and it receives 797 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Karonga?
The hottest day measured in Karonga between 1940 and 2025 was 24 November 2021, reaching 32.5 °C.
What is the coldest day in Karonga?
The coldest day measured in Karonga between 1940 and 2025 was 4 July 1976, at 17.0 °C.
Does it snow in Karonga?
Almost never: Karonga sees virtually no snow, with about 0 frost days per year.
Has the climate of Karonga warmed?
Yes: Karonga warmed by +0.8 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Karonga?
The wettest day measured in Karonga between 1940 and 2025 was 1 March 2018, with 77 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Karonga?
The windiest day measured in Karonga between 1940 and 2025 was 18 September 1952, with winds reaching 36.6 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Karonga?
The warmest month in Karonga is November (27.2 °C on average); the coldest is July (21.8 °C).
How much does it rain in Karonga?
Karonga receives on average 797 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 114 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Karonga?
Karonga gets on average 10.7 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,905 hours per year over 1940-2025.
Are there tropical nights in Karonga?
Yes: Karonga has on average 351 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Karonga?
In Karonga, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 38.2 °C on 25 March 1941, and the lowest was 15.7 °C on 17 July 2020.
Compare Karonga with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Karonga