Botswana
2 cities
Climate overview
Botswana spans about 17°S to 27°S in landlocked southern Africa, occupying an overwhelmingly flat high plateau. The Kalahari Desert sands dominate the south and west, while the Okavango Delta, one of the world's largest inland deltas, spreads across the northwest. Semi-arid hot steppe (Köppen BSh) and hot desert (BWh) climates predominate.
Gaborone sees July lows around 4°C and January highs around 33°C, with roughly 490 mm of annual rainfall concentrated between November and March; frosts occur on cold winter nights. The Kalahari interior is generally drier, with summer peaks that can exceed 40°C.
The Okavango Delta receives flood-pulse waters from the Angolan highlands months after local rains, producing rare seasonal flooding that peaks mid-year. ENSO exerts a very strong drought signal: El Niño years deliver severe regional drought, as in 1991–92 and 2015–16. Intensifying summer heat and reduced reliable rainfall threaten the cattle-based rural economy and the Okavango's fragile ecology.
Our archive covers 2 Botswanan cities with daily ERA5 reanalysis data going back to 1940. Comparing the last decade against the 1940–1970 baseline, mean temperatures across these cities have risen by about 0.8°C.
How the climate has shifted in Botswana
Average across 2 cities with full ERA5 coverage: 1940–1970 baseline vs the last decade (2016–2025).
- Annual mean temperature
- 20.8°C→21.7°C
- Days above 30°C per year
- 118 days→148 days+30
- Frost days per year
- 0 days→0 days−0
- Tropical nights (≥20°C) per year
- 51 nights→78 nights+28
What's unusual right now
From a snapshot of the world's largest cities updated each hour. Today's mean temperature compared with each city's long-term average for the same calendar date (ERA5 climatology, 1940 onward). Last 30 days uses each city's rolling daily-mean vs its monthly average. Not a global ranking.
Running warm
Cooler than usual