Botswana Seasons and Climate

Botswana Seasons

Botswana's climate can be described as continental semi-arid. The country is located in the sub-tropical high pressure belt of the southern hemisphere; hence some people refer to the climate as tropical. It would be more accurate though to refer to it as continental semi-arid. Generally, rainfall is low, unpredictable and varies a great deal and drought conditions are not unusual

Spring

When the migrant bird species appear, it is a clear sign that spring has arrived. The first to arrive are usually the yellow-billed kites and the carmine bee-eaters. The arrival of bird species will usually coincide with the first rains, sometime during September. Throughout the country most of the acacia trees are in bloom, the baobab, sausage tree and apple leaf are in bloom.

Tiger fishing is also now at it's best. Usually by late October the heavy rains arrive, filling up the pans with water which allows the elephants to begin their migration away from the Linyanti and Chobe River.

Night time temperatures vary between 13-18 degrees Celsius and day time temperatures vary between 33-35 degrees Celsius.

Summer

The summer season begins in November and ends in March. It usually brings high temperatures, however, it is also the rainy season, hence cloud cover and rain can cool things down slightly. Summer is at its peak when you start hearing the very distinctive breeding call of the woodland kingfisher.

Woodland Kingfishers migrate mainly from Angola where they stay during the winter months; they are called intra-African migrants. They arrive a little later than most of the other migrants and immediately look for a nesting spot. The male and female call in perfect harmony. They migrate north again in April.

The water levels are at their lowest in the Panhandle now. Usually by early December the rains have saturated the ground. The first flood waters of the Okavango River arrive in the far northern regions of the Panhandle towards the end of December. Zebra and wildebeest begin their mini-migrations in the Makgadikgadi, Savuti and Linyanti regions. Another aspect of the summer months is that many of the antelope species like Impala, Tsessebe, Wildebeest and warthog give birth to their young during this time to take advantage of the nutritious green grass after and during the rains.

For those who want to see the predator-prey interactions, the summer months provide some of your best opportunities to see hunting behaviour and predator interactions.

Night time temperatures vary between 18-19 degrees Celsius and day time temperatures vary between 31- 34 degrees Celsius.