Malawi
4 cities
Climate overview
Malawi is a small landlocked southern African nation spanning 118,484 km² between 9°22′ and 17°08′ south, bordered by Tanzania, Mozambique, and Zambia. The country is dominated by the Great Rift Valley, which cradles Lake Malawi (Lake Nyasa), Africa's third-largest lake at 29,500 km². Stretching some 580 km from north to south, this remarkable lake is home to more fish species than any other lake in the world.
The terrain rises from the lower Shire valley in the south through the Shire Highlands to Mount Mulanje at 3,002 m, the country's highest peak, while the north features the Nyika Plateau and Viphya Highlands. Climate zones range from tropical savanna (Aw) on lakeshore lowlands and the Shire valley, to humid subtropical (Cwa) on intermediate plateaus, and cooler subtropical highland climates on the highest plateaus and massifs.
Temperature and rainfall patterns vary dramatically with elevation and latitude. Lilongwe is coolest in July and sees highs of 29°C and lows of 18°C in November with 880 mm of rainfall concentrated almost entirely in the austral summer from November to April. Blantyre records highs of 24°C and lows of 13°C in July and highs of 31°C and lows of 20°C in November with 900 mm annually, while Mzuzu in the north sees highs of 20–27°C and lows of about 7–17°C with 1,290 mm.
Lakeshore Karonga is warmer, and Mulanje town at the foot of the massif is wetter than Lilongwe. The Mulanje massif is coolest in the dry months of May to August, while the Nyika Plateau is often cold at night in June and July.
Major climate events include the severe Tropical Storm Ana in January 2022, Cyclone Gombe in March 2022, and the historic Cyclone Freddy in March 2023, the longest-lived cyclone on record, which killed over 1,000 people in Malawi. The severe 2015–16 ENSO-driven drought hit the country hard, followed by the March 2019 floods in southern Malawi and swings in the level of Lake Malawi.
Our archive covers 4 Malawian cities with daily ERA5 reanalysis data going back to 1940. The hottest July afternoons are in Lilongwe, with average highs around 23.2°C, while Mzuzu has the coldest January nights, with average lows near 16.9°C. Comparing the last decade against the 1940–1970 baseline, mean temperatures across these cities have risen by about 1°C.
How the climate has shifted in Malawi
Average across 4 cities with full ERA5 coverage: 1940–1970 baseline vs the last decade (2016–2025).
- Annual mean temperature
- 19.5°C→20.5°C
- Days above 30°C per year
- 26 days→35 days+9
- Frost days per year
- 0 days→0 days+0
- Tropical nights (≥20°C) per year
- 9 nights→36 nights+27
Warmest year in the record so far: 2024.
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.
Warmer than usual
Cooler than usual