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The summer season begins in November and ends in
March. It usually brings very high temperatures. However, summer
is also the rainy season, and cloud coverage and rain can cool
things down considerably, although only usually for a short period
of time. The winter season begins in May and ends in August. This
is also the dry season when virtually no rainfall occurs. Winter
days are invariably sunny and cool to warm; however, evening and
night temperatures can drop below freezing point in some areas,
especially in the southwest. The in-between periods - April/early
May and September/October - still tend to be dry, but the days
are cooler than in summer and the nights are warmer than in winter.
The rainy season is in the summer, with October
and April being transitional months. January and February are
generally regarded as the peak months.
The mean annual rainfall varies from a maximum of
over 650mm in the extreme northeast area of the Chobe District
to a minimum of less than 250mm in the extreme southwest part
of Kgalagadi District. Almost all rainfall occurs during the summer
months while the winter period accounts for less than 10 percent
of the annual rainfall. Generally, rainfall decreases in amount
and increases in variability the further west and south you go.
Summer days are hot, especially in the weeks that
precede the coming of the cooling rains, and shade temperatures
rise to the 38°C mark and higher, reaching a blistering 44°C
on rare occasions. Winters are clear-skied and bone-dry, the air
seductively warm during the daylight hours In summer during the
morning period humidity ranges from 60 to 80% and drops to between
30 and 40% in the afternoon. In winter humidity is considerably
less and can vary between 40 and 70% during the morning and fall
to between 20 and 30% in the afternoon.
For tourists, the best visiting months are from
April through to October - in terms of both weather and game viewing.
It is during this period that the wildlife of the great spaces
gather around what water there is - the natural waterholes and
the borehole-fed dams - and are at their most visible. but, because
there is no cloud cover, cold at night and in the early mornings.
Sometimes bitterly so - frost is common and small quantities of
water can freeze. |
