The northern two-thirds of the country lie within the tropics, but due to the lands altitude and its distance from the oceans, the climate is more temperate than tropical. The winter months, from May to August, are dry and cloudless, with the days generally warm and the nights cold. Day and night temperatures vary considerably, particularly in the less vegetated desert regions. With the arrival of a cold front, temperatures may plummet suddenly. These, cold snaps, caused by Atlantic lows, usually last for a few days.
Early summer is usually hot with little relief from rain.
The waters of the Okavango and Kasane areas act as moderators and eliminate such extreme temperatures. The rainy season is normally between December and April, although early rains, from September onwards, are not unusual. Rain arrives suddenly in the form of short and intense thunder storms that may be very localised. Torrential rain may fall in one place, while another, only a few kilometres away, will remain bone dry. Zebra and wildebeest herds, in particular, follow the thunder showers to take advantage of the water and fresh growth.