🇿🇼Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe (390,757 km²) spans 15°–23°S, 25°–33°E across subtropical southern Africa, shaped by altitude from 162 m along the Zambezi valley to 2,592 m at Mount Nyangani in the Eastern Highlands, creating three distinct climate zones: the temperate Highveld plateau (1,200–1,600 m) with Köppen Cwb cool-season dry climate, the hotter middle veld (600–1,200 m), and the low-lying Lowveld (below 600 m) including the Zambezi and Limpopo valleys with tropical savanna (Aw) conditions.

The Highveld, encompassing Harare and Bulawayo, experiences mild to warm summers (October–March) with mean maximum temperatures 25–28°C, receiving 600–1,000 mm annual rainfall concentrated in November–March wet season driven by the Intertropical Convergence Zone, while the May–September dry season brings cool to cold nights (June–July minima 4–7°C).

The Eastern Highlands receive orographic precipitation exceeding 1,200–2,000 mm annually, supporting montane forests and tea plantations, while the Lowveld valleys endure extreme heat (October–November maxima 35–42°C) with sparse 400–600 mm rainfall and persistent drought vulnerability.

Zimbabwe's landlocked position and reliance on rainfed agriculture make the nation acutely vulnerable to El Niño-Southern Oscillation variability, with El Niño years consistently bringing severe drought and La Niña episodes triggering destructive cyclones tracking inland from the Mozambique Channel.

Zimbabwe faces intensifying hydrological extremes from El Niño and La Niña cycles compounded by accelerating climate change. Cyclone Idai (March 2019) made landfall in Mozambique and tracked westward into eastern Zimbabwe's Chimanimani and Chipinge districts, delivering rainfall exceeding 500 mm in 48 hours.

The resulting landslides and flash floods killed over 350 Zimbabweans, destroyed 50,000+ homes, displaced 270,000 people, and damaged roads, bridges, and agricultural land across Manicaland Province. The 2023–24 El Niño drought—Zimbabwe's worst in over 40 years—was declared a national disaster in April 2024, reducing maize production by 70%, leaving 7.6 million people (half the population) facing acute food insecurity, forcing school closures as water supplies collapsed, and reducing Kariba Dam to historic lows (1% capacity by October 2024), triggering 18-hour daily power cuts.

October–November 2024 brought record heat in the Lowveld exceeding 44°C. Recurring Zambezi-basin water stress threatens shared hydropower with Zambia, while erratic rainfall disrupts the agricultural calendar for smallholder farmers producing 70% of national food, with rising temperatures accelerating evapotranspiration and shrinking water resources.

Our archive covers 0 Zimbabwean cities with daily ERA5 reanalysis data going back to 1940.