All through October the heat mounts, and by November it is very hot during the day. By then most green vegetation is fading as the heat begins to build. September is another super month, dry and clear, yet not too hot. Clouds will be a rare sight for the next few months. That said, you'll still find yourself wearing shorts and a T-shirt during the day, and getting sunburnt if you are not careful. July and August are winter, when the average maximum temperatures are around 15–25☌ and the average minima are around 0–10☌. May is a lovely month: there is minimal chance of rain, nights are not yet too cold, and many of the summer's plants are still lush and green.īy June the nights are cold, approaching freezing in desert areas where night game drives can be bitter. The nights quickly become cooler, accentuating the temperature difference between the bright, hot days and the clear nights. From then the heat is waning and the land gradually cools and dries out. The frequency of the rains decreases, and they cease around March or April. By the early evening the sky will usually begin to clear again. However, you wouldn't want to be caught outside. Such tropical storms are spectacular everything feels terrifically fresh afterwards. In the late afternoon there will be an hour's torrential rain on some days. On a typical day during the rains, the sky will start blue and by early afternoon the clouds will appear. These averages, however, hide peaks of well over 45☌ in the desert. Then it's hot and fairly damp with average maximum temperatures around 25–35☌ and average minima around 10–20☌ (depending exactly where you are).
The beginning of the year, in January and February, is midsummer. In this 'rainy season' temperatures occasionally reach 40✬, and sometimes you may find it humid in the north. The further south or west you go, the drier it becomes, with many southern regions of the Kalahari and the whole of the coastal Namib Desert receiving no rainfall at all some years. Most of Namibia's rain falls in the summer, from around December to March, and it can be heavy and prolonged in the northern regions of Owamboland and Caprivi. October and November are still within the 'dry season' but then the temperatures are higher, especially in the lower-lying and more northerly areas. Frost is possible in the higher areas and the deserts. Temperatures average around 25✬ during the day, but nights are much colder. From April to September, in the 'dry season', it is generally cool, pleasant, clear and dry. Temperatures range widely from very hot to very cold, depending on the height of the land above sea level and the month. Note that although the terms 'summer' (November to April) and 'winter' (May to October) are sometimes used, they are not as applicable as, say, in a European maritime climate. The northern strip follows the same pattern, but has a more moderate, less dry climate. Most of it has a sub-tropical 'desert' climate, characterised by a wide range in temperature (from day to night and from summer to winter), and by low rainfall and humidity.
Most of Namibia is classified as an arid to semi-arid region (the line being crossed from semi-arid to arid when evaporation exceeds rainfall).