Karoi
# Karoi

Karoi is a town in Zimbabwe.

## Location

Karoi is located in Karoi District, Mashonaland West Province, in central northern Zimbabwe. It is located approximately 85 kilometres (53 mi), by road, northwest of Chinhoyi, the nearest large town, and the location of the provincial headquarters. This location lies about 200 kilometres (120 mi), northwest of Harare, Zimbabwe's capital and largest city. Karoi lies along the main road, Highway A-1, between Harare and Chirundu, at the International border with the Republic of Zambia, about 170 kilometres (110 mi), further northwest of Karoi. The coordinates of Karoi are: 16° 48' 36.00"S, 29° 42' 0.00"E (Latitude:16.8100; Longitude:29.7000).

## Overview

In addition to the offices of Karoi Town Council, the town is also the location of the headquarters of Karoi District Administration. The surrounding countryside is farmland, where tobacco is the primary cash crop. In 2011, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) permitted Mashonaland Tobacco Company (MTC) to open auction floors and buy tobacco in the town, but controversy arose in 2012 about purchases from uncontracted farmers.

There are two hotels in the town: Karoi Hotel in the center of town and Twin River Inn, about 1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi), north of town, on the road to Kariba, approximately 135 kilometres (84 mi), northwest of Karoi. The main secondary schools in Karoi are Karoi High School and Chikangwe High School. The farming village of Tengwe lies about 30 kilometres (19 mi), southwest of Karoi.

## History

The name Karoi means "little witch".

## Population

During the 1992 national census, the population of the town of Karoi was estimated at 14,763. In 2004, the population estimate was 25,030. Karoi has a suburb called Chikangwe, located about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi), east of the central business district.

## Climate

Climate data for Karoi (1961–1990, extremes 1951–present) :

| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Record high °C (°F) | 35.8 (96.4) | 33.6 (92.5) | 31.7 (89.1) | 33.6 (92.5) | 30.9 (87.6) | 28.0 (82.4) | 28.1 (82.6) | 31.2 (88.2) | 34.7 (94.5) | 35.7 (96.3) | 36.5 (97.7) | 33.7 (92.7) | 36.5 (97.7) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 25.8 (78.4) | 25.6 (78.1) | 25.8 (78.4) | 25.6 (78.1) | 24.1 (75.4) | 22.2 (72.0) | 22.2 (72.0) | 24.6 (76.3) | 27.8 (82.0) | 29.5 (85.1) | 28.0 (82.4) | 26.0 (78.8) | 25.6 (78.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 20.6 (69.1) | 20.3 (68.5) | 20.0 (68.0) | 18.9 (66.0) | 16.8 (62.2) | 14.7 (58.5) | 14.6 (58.3) | 16.6 (61.9) | 20.1 (68.2) | 22.2 (72.0) | 21.9 (71.4) | 20.7 (69.3) | 18.9 (66.0) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 16.9 (62.4) | 16.8 (62.2) | 15.9 (60.6) | 14.0 (57.2) | 11.2 (52.2) | 8.7 (47.7) | 8.2 (46.8) | 9.9 (49.8) | 13.0 (55.4) | 16.0 (60.8) | 16.9 (62.4) | 16.9 (62.4) | 13.7 (56.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 13.4 (56.1) | 13.0 (55.4) | 10.7 (51.3) | 7.3 (45.1) | 4.9 (40.8) | 1.9 (35.4) | 2.1 (35.8) | 3.6 (38.5) | 5.3 (41.5) | 8.1 (46.6) | 10.7 (51.3) | 12.2 (54.0) | 1.9 (35.4) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 178.6 (7.03) | 191.6 (7.54) | 111.9 (4.41) | 39.8 (1.57) | 6.7 (0.26) | 1.7 (0.07) | 2.0 (0.08) | 1.1 (0.04) | 4.5 (0.18) | 19.7 (0.78) | 73.4 (2.89) | 173.1 (6.81) | 804.1 (31.66) |
| Average rainy days | 17 | 16 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 79 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 182.9 | 165.2 | 210.8 | 240.0 | 266.6 | 258.0 | 282.1 | 300.7 | 294.0 | 275.9 | 222.0 | 176.7 | 2,874.9 |
| Mean daily sunshine hours | 5.9 | 5.9 | 6.8 | 8.0 | 8.6 | 8.6 | 9.1 | 9.7 | 9.8 | 8.9 | 7.4 | 5.7 | 7.9 |
| Source 1: World Meteorological Organization, NOAA (sun and mean temperature, 1961–1990) ||||||||||||||
| Source 2: Meteo Climat (record highs and lows) ||||||||||||||
