Temperature change in Zambia
Zambia: Temperature change was 1.11 °C in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Temperature change in Zambia, 1961–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in °C.
Analysis
The most recent figure for temperature change in Zambia is 1.11 °C, measured in 2025.
The figure is down 33.4% on the previous year and down 28.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, temperature change in Zambia peaked at 1.66 °C in 2024 and was at its lowest, -0.416 °C, in 1965.
That places Zambia 177th out of 233 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Temperature change in Zambia, year by year
| Year | °C | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.226 °C | — |
| 1962 | -0.168 °C | -174.3% |
| 1963 | -0.387 °C | +130.4% |
| 1964 | -0.282 °C | -27.1% |
| 1965 | -0.416 °C | +47.5% |
| 1966 | 0.296 °C | -171.2% |
| 1967 | -0.027 °C | -109.1% |
| 1968 | -0.144 °C | +433.3% |
| 1969 | 0.214 °C | -248.6% |
| 1970 | 0.32 °C | +49.5% |
| 1971 | -0.246 °C | -176.9% |
| 1972 | -0.136 °C | -44.7% |
| 1973 | 0.396 °C | -391.2% |
| 1974 | -0.39 °C | -198.5% |
| 1975 | -0.115 °C | -70.5% |
| 1976 | -0.296 °C | +157.4% |
| 1977 | 0.536 °C | -281.1% |
| 1978 | 0.106 °C | -80.2% |
| 1979 | 0.26 °C | +145.3% |
| 1980 | 0.14 °C | -46.2% |
| 1981 | -0.148 °C | -205.7% |
| 1982 | 0.323 °C | -318.2% |
| 1983 | 1.03 °C | +218.6% |
| 1984 | 0.567 °C | -44.9% |
| 1985 | 0.215 °C | -62.1% |
| 1986 | 0.073 °C | -66.0% |
| 1987 | 0.976 °C | +1237.0% |
| 1988 | 0.663 °C | -32.1% |
| 1989 | 0.173 °C | -73.9% |
| 1990 | 0.814 °C | +370.5% |
| 1991 | 0.099 °C | -87.8% |
| 1992 | 0.714 °C | +621.2% |
| 1993 | 0.014 °C | -98.0% |
| 1994 | 0.361 °C | +2478.6% |
| 1995 | 0.674 °C | +86.7% |
| 1996 | 0.652 °C | -3.3% |
| 1997 | 0.513 °C | -21.3% |
| 1998 | 1.06 °C | +106.0% |
| 1999 | 0.259 °C | -75.5% |
| 2000 | 0.152 °C | -41.3% |
| 2001 | 0.386 °C | +153.9% |
| 2002 | 0.788 °C | +104.1% |
| 2003 | 0.963 °C | +22.2% |
| 2004 | 0.444 °C | -53.9% |
| 2005 | 1.17 °C | +164.4% |
| 2006 | 0.606 °C | -48.4% |
| 2007 | 0.871 °C | +43.7% |
| 2008 | 0.31 °C | -64.4% |
| 2009 | 0.37 °C | +19.4% |
| 2010 | 1.35 °C | +264.6% |
| 2011 | 0.899 °C | -33.4% |
| 2012 | 0.952 °C | +5.9% |
| 2013 | 0.856 °C | -10.1% |
| 2014 | 0.628 °C | -26.6% |
| 2015 | 1.56 °C | +147.9% |
| 2016 | 1.29 °C | -17.4% |
| 2017 | 0.381 °C | -70.4% |
| 2018 | 0.738 °C | +93.7% |
| 2019 | 1.22 °C | +64.8% |
| 2020 | 1.11 °C | -9.0% |
| 2021 | 1.22 °C | +9.9% |
| 2022 | 0.826 °C | -32.0% |
| 2023 | 1.29 °C | +56.3% |
| 2024 | 1.66 °C | +28.8% |
| 2025 | 1.11 °C | -33.4% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 1.11 °C is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.34 °C, 83% of the median. (41 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 1.11 °C is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.22 °C, 91% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Temperature change in Zambia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | +2478.6% | 0.014 °C | 0.361 °C |
| 1987 | +1237.0% | 0.073 °C | 0.976 °C |
| 1992 | +621.2% | 0.099 °C | 0.714 °C |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | -0.0764 °C | -0.416 °C | 0.296 °C | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.0435 °C | -0.39 °C | 0.536 °C | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.4011 °C | -0.148 °C | 1.03 °C | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.5157 °C | 0.014 °C | 1.06 °C | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6064 °C | 0.152 °C | 1.17 °C | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9862 °C | 0.381 °C | 1.56 °C | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.2 °C | 0.826 °C | 1.66 °C | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More environment data for Zambia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.03 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.265 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.74 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 3.49 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is temperature change in Zambia?
- Temperature change in Zambia was 1.11 °C in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest temperature change recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.66 °C in 2024.
- What is the lowest temperature change recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.416 °C in 1965.
- How does Zambia rank for temperature change?
- Zambia ranks 177th out of 233 countries with data for 2025.
- Is temperature change rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Temperature change. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The FAOSTAT Temperature change on land domain disseminates statistics of mean surface temperature change by country, with annual updates. Statistics are available for monthly, seasonal and annual mean temperature anomalies, i.e., temperature change with respect to a baseline climatology, corresponding to the period 1951–1980. The standard deviation of the temperature change of the baseline methodology is also available. Data are based on the publicly available GISTEMP data, the Global Surface Temperature Change data distributed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Institute for Space Studies (NASA-GISS).