Harare weather by month
The best time to visit Harare is April, May and August — 96/100 in May, 24°C and 1 rainy day. The best season is winter, June to August (91/100 on average).
The worst month is January at 70/100 — hot, soaked, clean air. See January →
Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis
Planning the wider trip? Best time to visit Zimbabwe →
Best season: June to August (91/100 on average) · worst January (70/100)
- Days
- 24°C
- Nights
- 10°C
- Wet days
- 1
- Sun
- 10.1 h
- Humidity
- 62%
- Daylight
- 11 h

Harare, month by month
Comfort score out of 100 for the kind of trip Harare is best for, the average high, rainy days and hours of sun a day from the climate normals, and how busy it tends to be.
What's on in Harare through the year
Festivals, natural spectacles, holidays and the seasons to watch out for — curated and sourced. The month pages carry the detail.
- April
- Independence Day18 AprHoliday
- August
- Zimbabwe Agricultural Show22–31 Aug (usually)Festival
- Heroes' and Defence Forces days8–14 Aug (usually)Holiday
- September
- Jacaranda season25 Sep – 5 Nov (usually)Nature
- November
- The rains arrive15 Nov – 31 Dec (usually)Season
- December
- Flash floods in the heavy rains1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually)Hazard
Crowds in Harare in May
How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.
Busyschool holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather(estimated)
Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet
Traveller notes on Harare
What people who have been say about the place — the year-round notes first, then month by month.
Forum posters name December through February as Zimbabwe's rainy season, describing February specifically as capable of spoiling a day's plans with rain but still a genuinely lovely time of year overall, with dramatic thunderstorms posters describe as magnificent rather than just disruptive. Posters consistently recommend a raincoat or umbrella for this stretch, since heavy rain remains a real possibility right through to April. Posters generally rate April through September as Zimbabwe's best overall window, with October and November flagged as extremely hot and dry by contrast - meaning February's rain, while inconvenient at times, comes with far more moderate temperatures than those hot, dry shoulder months. Posters generally rate February as a warm, humid, occasionally rain-interrupted but still worthwhile time to visit Harare.
August is the end of Zimbabwe's winter and the forum's verdict on the weather is simply "lovely" — Harare runs near 24°C by day but drops to about 10 at night, with no rain at all in the monthly record. It is the country's best window generally: July and August are the months regulars name for Victoria Falls, though by August the falls run at a medium level rather than full. Two honest catches. The city itself is more a practical base and transit point than a destination, with Bulawayo the more interesting city and the parks the reason most people are in the country. And the jacarandas that turn Harare purple bloom from late September into early November — August is a month too early for them.
Add your own note from Harare's card on the map.