Zimbabwe Climate
Top 5 Cities: Harare, Bulawayo, Chitungwiza, Mutare, and Gweru
This month in numbers
Zimbabwe experienced its 12th warmest April on record in 2026, with an average temperature of 22.29°C, marking an anomaly of +1.3°C above the 1961–1990 baseline. The three-month period from February to April 2026 was the 15th warmest on record, with an average temperature of 23.21°C, an anomaly of +1.1°C. Globally, April 2026 was the 2nd warmest April on record for land temperatures, with an anomaly of +1.1°C, while the February–April 2026 period also ranked as the 2nd warmest globally for land temperatures, with an anomaly of +1.2°C.
What changed
Zimbabwe's consistently warmer-than-average temperatures this month and over the past three months align with a long-term warming trend for the country, which has seen an increase of +1.20°C compared to the 1961–1990 baseline. The year 2025 was the warmest on record for Zimbabwe, at 22.92°C. The country has also faced significant rainfall-induced hazards, with 138 fatalities and 72 injuries reported since October 2025 due to heavy rains and widespread flooding in March 2026, which also damaged infrastructure and crops. This comes after a period of intense rainfall and flash floods in January and February 2026, which affected thousands of households and damaged numerous schools.
What’s driving change?
The erratic weather patterns, including both high temperatures and sudden rains, are indicative of broader climate change impacts. Zimbabwe is highly vulnerable to these changes, ranking 34th globally for countries most affected by extreme weather events between 1995 and 2024. The current Neutral ENSO state, with a weekly Niño 3.4 SST anomaly of +0.9°C, is forecast to transition to an El Niño phase with an 82% probability for May-Jul 2026, and a 98% probability for Aug-Oct 2026. El Niño typically brings warmer, drier conditions to Southern Africa, often leading to drought and heatwaves, which has historically caused severe agricultural disruption and food insecurity. The region has already experienced significant veld fires, with 936,000 hectares of land destroyed in 2025, a problem exacerbated by human activities and contributing to climate change.
Looking ahead
A strong El Niño event is highly likely to develop in the coming months and persist through 2027, increasing the probability of severe drought, heatwaves, and agricultural disruption across Southern Africa, including Zimbabwe.
Generated by Gemini from climate data and web sources
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Data Sources
Data Sources for Zimbabwe
Every figure on this page is sourced from official, openly published climate datasets. Anomalies are calculated against the 1961–1990 baseline (temperature) and 1991–2020 (rainfall, sunshine, frost) - see the Methodology & Sources page for the complete dataset list and update calendar.
FAQs
FAQs
How is the climate in Zimbabwe changing?
Zimbabwe is warming in line with the rest of the world. The page above shows the latest monthly temperature anomaly versus the 1961-1990 baseline, the long-term annual trend, and the region's rank in the historical record. The trend rate is shown as °C per decade in the headline panel; you can also see the warmest and coolest years on file.
Where does the climate data for Zimbabwe come from?
Climate data for Zimbabwe comes from Our World in Data, sourcing Copernicus ERA5 and HadCRUT5 (national temperature anomaly) and the Global Carbon Project via Our World in Data (CO₂ emissions), refreshed every month, when the upstream temperature and rainfall data are refreshed.
What is the climate baseline used on this page?
Anomalies on this page are calculated against the 1961-1990 climatological baseline, which is the standard reference period used by the Met Office, NOAA, IPCC and most national climate services. Some panels also show the source-native 1901-2000 (NOAA) or 1991-2020 (WMO) baselines for verification. See Methodology & Sources for the full reference.
Which areas does the Zimbabwe climate data cover?
The Zimbabwe climate profile covers Harare, Bulawayo, Chitungwiza, Mutare and surrounding areas. Temperature, rainfall and emissions data for Zimbabwe
How often is the Zimbabwe climate update refreshed?
The Zimbabwe climate update is refreshed monthly, typically a few days after the previous month closes and the upstream provider (Met Office HadUK-Grid, NOAA Climate at a Glance, Copernicus ERA5 or the Global Carbon Project) publishes its update. See the Climate Rankings for cross-region comparisons.