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The climate of Tanzania
Tanzania is a country located in the eastern part of Africa on the Indian Ocean. Tanzania is an important tourist destination in Africa. One of the main attractions is the Serengeti; which is a vast area known for the annual migration of huge numbers of herbivores. Because of the drought they migrate to the southern plains in October; around April they return to the hills in the north again. The Serengeti is a Unesco preservation site. The largest part of Tanzania has a tropical savannah climate with high temperatures all year round and a distinct dry period. The eastern part of Tanzania even has two dry periods and two rainy periods. The central part of Tanzania is drier and has a mix of a warm steppe climate which changes into a warm desert climate centrally on the African High plains. A part of the Serengeti has a warm China climate.

 

Climate information of places and areas in Tanzania
The climate information on this page is only brief. Specific information about weather and climate can be found on the climate pages per area or town. As for Tanzania the following climate information is available:

Arusha
Bukoba
Dar es Salaam
Dodoma
Ikoma
Kigoma
Mbeya
Moshi
Mtwara
Mwanza
Ngorongoro crater
Pemba Island
Sumbawanga
Tabora
Tanga
The Serengeti
Zanzibar

Rainy season
The western and central parts of Tanzania have a rainy season which starts between the end of October and the beginning of December and is till the second part of April. During this period most of the annual precipitation falls. May till October is extremely dry. The eastern part of Tanzania has a short rainy period in November and December after which it gets temporarily drier. From March precipitation figures start to increase rapidly. This longer rainy period is till the second part of May.

Temperatures
Because Tanzania is located very close to the equator it is warm here all year round. Temperatures are between 23 and 32 degrees Celsius (73.4-89.6 degrees Fahrenheit) on average. Locally it may be slightly warmer or colder. A striking detail is that the winter is not necessarily the coolest period in Tanzania. For example, in the western part in the surroundings of Lake Tanganyika temperatures are highest during local spring (September-October). As soon as the rainy season starts temperatures slightly drop.

Hurricanes
Tanzania is located in an area where hurricanes and tropical storms are uncommon. Most heavy depressions that come from the Indian Ocean cannot reach Tanzania. If this does happen these storms will have abated and hardly ever have the strength of a tropical storm anymore. Chances of hurricanes are very small. However, the southeastern part of Tanzania may get hit by a hurricane. Hurricane season is from November till May.

 

Climate figures
Throughout Tanzania several climate figures and temperatures can be recorded. The figures below are for the capital Dodoma and cannot be seen as an average for the country. For climate figures for other places and regions in Tanzania please, visit the individual climate pages.

average
 maximum
temperature (°C)

average
minimum

temperature (°C)
average
hours of sunshine

per
day
average days with precipitation
per month
average
mm
precipitation
per month
average
sea
temperature (°C)
January 28 17 7 17 n/a
February 28 17 8 14 n/a
March 28 17 7 17 n/a
April 27 17 7 17 n/a
May 26 16 7 8 n/a
June 25 13 8 2 n/a
July 25 13 8 2 n/a
August 26 13 8 2 n/a
September 28 14 8 1 n/a
October 29 16 9 4 n/a
November 30 17 8 10 n/a
December 29 17 7 18 n/a
= 0-5 mm ● = 6-30 mm ● = 31-60 mm ● = 61-100 mm ● = 101-200 mm ● = over 200 mm
= 0-0.2 inches ● = 0.2-1.2 inches ● = 1.2-2.4 inches ● = 2.5-4 inches ● = 4.1-8 inches ● = over 8 inches

More climate information
Climate tables are useful but they don’t give an overall picture of the climate and possible weather conditions during a period of time. How high the chances are of hot or cold weather or hurricanes can often not be found in these tables. This is why we offer extra climate information per month. The figures below are for the capital Dodoma. For climate figures on specific regions and places please, visit the individual climate pages of Tanzania.
 

chance of
(very) hot

weather

chance of
(very) cool
weather
chance of
long-term

precipitation
chance of
hurricanes
(cyclones)
chance of
sunny days

UV-index

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
click here for the explanation of the symbols

 

Disclaimer
The information at this site was carefully composed from climate data collected by meteorological services, meteorological offices, climate experts and other sources. “More climate info” is based on statistics, climate data and personal experience. No rights can be derived from this site. Weather has no memory and gives no guaranties. Nothing is as changeable and unpredictable as the weather. The authors of this site feel in no way responsible for any damages caused by misinterpretation or other circumstances that may influence your holiday or trip to a certain destination. We provide information, it’s up to the reader to use it to it’s benefit.

 

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