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The climate of the Bazaruto archipelago, located in the south-central part of Mozambique, is
tropical, with a hot, rainy season from November to March and a dry season from April to mid-November, within which there's a cooler period from mid-May to mid-September. In the coolest months, June and July, the average daily
temperature drops to around 20 °C (68 °F): in fact it is winter, but we are close to the Tropic, so the temperature does not decrease too much.
Here are the average temperatures.
Bazaruto - Average temperatures| Month | Min (°C) | Max (°C) | Mean (°C) | Min (°F) | Max (°F) | Mean (°F) |
|---|
| January | 24 | 31 | 27.5 | 75 | 88 | 81.5 |
|---|
| February | 23 | 31 | 27 | 73 | 88 | 80.6 |
|---|
| March | 23 | 31 | 27 | 73 | 88 | 80.6 |
|---|
| April | 21 | 29 | 25 | 70 | 84 | 77 |
|---|
| May | 17 | 28 | 22.5 | 63 | 82 | 72.5 |
|---|
| June | 15 | 26 | 20.5 | 59 | 79 | 68.9 |
|---|
| July | 15 | 25 | 20 | 59 | 77 | 68 |
|---|
| August | 16 | 26 | 21 | 61 | 79 | 69.8 |
|---|
| September | 18 | 27 | 22.5 | 64 | 81 | 72.5 |
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| October | 20 | 28 | 24 | 68 | 82 | 75.2 |
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| November | 22 | 29 | 25.5 | 72 | 84 | 77.9 |
|---|
| December | 23 | 30 | 26.5 | 73 | 86 | 79.7 |
|---|
| Year | 19.7 | 28.4 | 24 | 67.5 | 83.1 | 75 |
|---|
Annual
precipitation amounts to about 870 millimeters (34 inches), so it is not very abundant; it rains more than 100 mm (4 in) per month only from December to February. Occasionally, however, there can be brief showers also in the dry season.
Here is the average precipitation.
Bazaruto - Average precipitation| Month | Millimeters | Inches | Days |
|---|
| January | 175 | 6.9 | 11 |
|---|
| February | 170 | 6.7 | 12 |
|---|
| March | 95 | 3.7 | 10 |
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| April | 50 | 2 | 7 |
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| May | 40 | 1.6 | 7 |
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| June | 30 | 1.2 | 7 |
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| July | 20 | 0.8 | 6 |
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| August | 25 | 1 | 5 |
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| September | 15 | 0.6 | 4 |
|---|
| October | 35 | 1.4 | 5 |
|---|
| November | 65 | 2.6 | 7 |
|---|
| December | 155 | 6.1 | 8 |
|---|
| Year | 875 | 34.4 | 89 |
|---|
Declared national park in 1971, the archipelago comprises the islands of Bazaruto, Benguerra, Magaruque, Banque, and Santa Carolina (or Paradise Island). On the islands, there are sandy beaches and coral reefs.
From November to mid-May, the archipelago can be affected by the South-West Indian Ocean
cyclones, although they are more likely from January to March.
The amount of
sunshine in Bazaruto is good all year round, even in the wettest months, since the rains come as downpours or thunderstorms, which may be intense, but usually do not last long. Here are the average sunshine hours per day.
Bazaruto - Sunshine hours| Month | Average | Total |
|---|
January | 8 | 250 | February | 8 | 225 | March | 9 | 280 | April | 9 | 270 | May | 8 | 250 | June | 8 | 240 | July | 8 | 250 | August | 9 | 280 | September | 9 | 270 | October | 9 | 280 | November | 9 | 270 | December | 8 | 250 | Year | 8.5 | 3105 |
The
sea is comfortably warm in summer, in fact, it reaches 28 °C (82 °F) from January to March, but it remains warm enough to swim in also in winter, in fact, it does not drop below 24 °C (75 °F) in July, August and September. Here are the average sea temperatures.
Bazaruto - Sea temperature| Month | Celsius (°C) | Fahrenheit (°F) |
|---|
January | 28 | 82 | February | 28 | 82 | March | 28 | 82 | April | 27 | 81 | May | 26 | 79 | June | 25 | 77 | July | 24 | 75 | August | 24 | 75 | September | 24 | 75 | October | 25 | 77 | November | 26 | 79 | December | 27 | 81 | Year | 26 | 78.8 |
Best Time
The
best time to go to the Bazarutos runs from mid-May to October. In April and the first half of May, there is already little rain, the temperature is high and the sea is still warm, but there is still some risk, though not high, of cyclones. From June to September, it's often a bit
cool, especially in the evening, actually, sometimes at night, it can even get a bit cold, and the temperature can reach 10 °C (50 °F): it's better to bring a sweatshirt or sweater and a pair of long pants. However, from July to September, you can watch humpback whales in the southern part of the Mozambique Channel. Anyway, in terms of climate, on the whole the best month is October, followed by September, which is already a bit warmer than August. In October, the days are also a little longer: one hour more than in August and two hours more than in June.