Pemba weather by month
The best time to visit Pemba is June, July and September — 95/100 in September, 29°C and 3 rainy days. The best season is the dry season, May to November (92/100 on average).
The worst month is January at 67/100 — sweltering, soaked, clean air. See January →
Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis
Planning the wider trip? Best time to visit Mozambique →
Best season: May to November (92/100 on average) · worst January (67/100)
- Days
- 29°C
- Nights
- 21°C
- Wet days
- 3
- Sun
- 11.1 h
- Humidity
- 76%
- Daylight
- 12 h

Pemba, month by month
Comfort score out of 100 for the kind of trip Pemba 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 Pemba through the year
Festivals, natural spectacles, holidays and the seasons to watch out for — curated and sourced. The month pages carry the detail.
Crowds in Pemba in September
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 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather(estimated)
Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet
Traveller notes on Pemba
What people who have been say about the place — the year-round notes first, then month by month.
Forum posters name June as a strong pick for diving here, sitting inside the dry winter season (roughly June through September) that brings the clearest water of the year. Posters are consistent that March, April and May count as the genuine rainy season to avoid, with June marking a clean transition into the more reliable dry stretch. Pemba is consistently named as a strong base and springboard for exploring the wider Quirimbas Archipelago, with direct flights from Johannesburg and Maputo making it a practical gateway. Posters generally rate June through October, alongside December-February, as the two best windows overall for diving conditions here.
Mozambique forum threads describe December in the Pemba/Cabo Delgado region as genuinely hot midsummer, commonly 30C+, with rain when it comes usually arriving as short, sharp storms in the late afternoon or early evening rather than settling in for the day. Several posters noted the heavier rainfall in this region typically doesn't arrive until mid-January into February, so December often means just the occasional rainy day breaking up a run of sunshine - locals described an odd rainy day as a welcome relief after a stretch of nonstop heat rather than a disruption. The consistent read: come prepared for real heat, with rain gear as a minor backup rather than the main concern.
Add your own note from Pemba's card on the map.