the climate in Namibia
The Namibian climate varies from arid and semi-arid to subtropical. With a great variety of rainfall from the dry south west to the tropical north east. Here is a breakdown of what you can expect
The weather on the coast of Namibia is not always what people expect, temperatures are generally cool and days are often foggy. If your dream holiday includes tropical beaches, days spent tanning on the beach and swimming in a warm the ocean immediately cancel your trip to Namibia. While the rest of the country is a sun worshippers paradise the coast is NOT.
This cool and overcast weather is a product of a cold off-shore Atlantic current and the very hot Namib Desert. The two meet on the coast and the result is a large mist bank. The coastal regions are generally temperate often temperatures at the coast are generally between 5° C and 20°C. However in winter the east wind can bring searing heat to the coastal areas, often accompanied by a dust storm - in a unique twist on normality areas on the Namibian coast often experience there hottest day of the year during winter!
Overall Namibia is a summer rainfall area, with limited showers occurring from October and building up to peak in January and February. The weather in the interior offers exactly what the majority of people expect of Namibia - sunshine. Apparently Namibia has over three hundred days of sunshine a year - although personally I've never bothered to count them. Waking up in the morning to find an overcast day is a novel experience - and one which most Namibian's are very fond of. Recently a radio phone in talk show (on National Radio) had several weeks worth of debate regarding what 'fine' weather actually was. The general consensus was that a 'fine' day in Namibia was one on which it rained.
Winter temperatures in central & southern Namibia can drop to below freezing, although the coldest nights are usually around 5° C. Winter days are pretty much always sunny (Namibia is a summer rainfall area) and temperatures reach the low 20's°C.
Summer evenings are warm and pleasant with temperature is the high teens. Days are hot with temperatures in the mid 30's to low 40's. In the northern areas rains can start as early as October and last to the first weeks of May. The further south you head the less it rains and the later the season starts, the same is true when travelling from east to west (eastern Namibia is wet - western Namibia dry). Windhoek, in central Namibia generally experiences rain from January - late April (although there can be rains early than this - and October & November are referred to as the small rainy season).