Weather locations in Malawi

Malawi is a landlocked country strung down the floor of the East African Rift, and its climate is tropical but modified by altitude and by the lake's huge thermal mass. The country's weather varies more with height than with the season.

Main climate types

Most of Malawi is tropical savanna, yet the highlands, which rise to nearly 3,000 metres, have a distinctly cooler sub-tropical or temperate character. Along the shore of Lake Malawi conditions are hot year round and change only slightly between seasons. The northern highlands around Nyika and the Mulanje massif in the south add a cool, misty upland climate that can be genuinely surprising to visitors.

Temperatures

Lilongwe, on the central plateau at about 1,050 metres, averages about 24 degrees in January and 17 degrees in July, so the coolest months are the dry winter ones. Blantyre is slightly warmer at 28 degrees in January. Down on the lakeshore at Mangochi, highs pass 30 degrees in the wet season and nights stay above 25. Upland areas, Nyika in particular, can fall to 5 degrees on July mornings.

Rainfall

Annual totals are around 800 to 900 millimetres over the plateaus, over 1,000 millimetres in the northern highlands and around Mulanje, and above 1,500 in the depression around Zomba and the lower Shire. Nearly all of it falls between November and April, with the heaviest downpours in February and March, while June to September is almost completely dry. The lake occasionally causes dense fog in the early morning in the wet season.

When to go

May to September is the dry season and the best time for walking, climbing and visiting the national parks, when paths are passable and the nights are cool. The lakeshore at that time is hot and clear. The green, wetter period from December to April brings wildflowers to the highlands and good conditions for birds, but some roads become difficult after heavy rain.