Tanzania · 10.27° S · 40.18° E
Solar position in Mtwara
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Mtwara — computed for 10.27° S, 40.18° E, 21 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Mtwara today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+3
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 04:39 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 05:04 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 05:29 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:51 | 102° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 06:19 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 12:03 | 88.5° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:47 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:15 | 258° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:37 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:02 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:27 | 18° below |
| Day length | 12 h 24 min | |
Sun path diagram for Mtwara
Where the sun stands in the sky: the centre is straight overhead, the outer ring is the horizon. Numbers mark local clock hours.
- June solstice
- Equinox
- December solstice
- Today
On the June solstice the sun reaches 56.3° at solar noon in Mtwara; on the December solstice only 76.8°. Sunrise swings from 66° ENE in June to 114° ESE in December — a 48° arc along the horizon.
Sunrise, sunset and sun height by month
Values for the 21st of each month, local clock time including daylight saving time.
| Month | Sunrise | Solar noon | Sunset | Day length | Noon elevation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 06:11 | 12:30 | 18:49 | 12 h 37 min | 80.4° |
| February | 06:21 | 12:32 | 18:43 | 12 h 22 min | 89.8° |
| March | 06:23 | 12:26 | 18:29 | 12 h 06 min | 79.4° |
| April | 06:23 | 12:17 | 18:12 | 11 h 49 min | 67.8° |
| May | 06:27 | 12:15 | 18:04 | 11 h 37 min | 59.5° |
| June | 06:35 | 12:21 | 18:06 | 11 h 31 min | 56.3° |
| July | 06:37 | 12:25 | 18:13 | 11 h 36 min | 59.3° |
| August | 06:27 | 12:22 | 18:17 | 11 h 49 min | 67.7° |
| September | 06:09 | 12:12 | 18:15 | 12 h 06 min | 79.1° |
| October | 05:52 | 12:03 | 18:15 | 12 h 23 min | 89.5° |
| November | 05:46 | 12:05 | 18:23 | 12 h 37 min | 80.3° |
| December | 05:55 | 12:17 | 18:39 | 12 h 44 min | 76.8° |
A year of daylight in Mtwara
Each column is one day of 2026. Bright: sun above the horizon; soft: civil twilight; line: solar noon. Steps are daylight saving time changes.
Best solar panel angle in Mtwara
Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
11°collects the most energy over a year: 1662 kWh per kWp.
8°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.
- Yearly energy
- Worst-month energy
| Tilt | kWh/kWp per year | Share of best year | January kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1635 | 98% | 4.37 | 1.3× |
| 8° off-grid best | 1659 | 100% | 4.22 | 1.2× |
| 10° = latitude | 1661 | 100% | 4.17 | 1.2× |
| 11° year-round best | 1662 | 100% | 4.15 | 1.2× |
| 15° | 1659 | 100% | 4.03 | 1.3× |
| 30° | 1587 | 96% | 3.48 | 1.4× |
| 45° | 1427 | 86% | 2.75 | 1.8× |
| 60° | 1190 | 72% | 1.92 | 2.6× |
| 70° | 1004 | 60% | 1.40 | 3.5× |
| 90° | 674 | 41% | 1.10 | 3.2× |
A fixed array in Mtwara produces the most over a year at 11°. The design month for an off-grid system is January: at 8° it makes 4.22 kWh per kWp a day, 2% more than at 11°, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Mtwara at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 11° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 11° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.51 | 1.77 | 1.40 | 4.15 | 26.5 °C |
| February | 5.53 | 2.26 | 1.81 | 4.28 | 26.2 °C |
| March | 5.43 | 3.00 | 2.43 | 4.34 | 26.2 °C |
| April | 5.25 | 3.93 | 3.21 | 4.38 | 25.7 °C |
| May | 5.08 | 4.77 | 3.92 | 4.42 | 24.7 °C |
| June | 4.89 | 5.11 | 4.22 | 4.35 | 23.6 °C |
| July | 5.01 | 5.02 | 4.15 | 4.43 | 23.4 °C |
| August | 5.55 | 4.64 | 3.83 | 4.75 | 24.1 °C |
| September | 6.16 | 3.84 | 3.14 | 5.05 | 25.1 °C |
| October | 6.44 | 2.72 | 2.20 | 5.04 | 26.2 °C |
| November | 6.55 | 1.83 | 1.44 | 4.92 | 27.2 °C |
| December | 6.08 | 1.56 | 1.22 | 4.50 | 27.2 °C |
| Year | 5.62 avg | 3.38 avg | 1004 kWh | 1662 kWh |
Sizing example. To run a 1 kWh-per-day load through December on LiFePO4 batteries (charge controller, battery and inverter losses included) you need about 970 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 280 Wp at 11°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Mtwara
Distance between rows of 2 m long panels (slope length) so that no row shades the next between 10:00 and 14:00 solar time on the winter solstice.
2.1 mrow pitch at 70°
2.2 mrow pitch at 11°
How Mtwara compares in Tanzania
Against the other 222 places in Tanzania with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
112thof 223 places in Tanzania for sunshine, shared: 5.62 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−1%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Tanzania: 1,662 against 1,677 kWh per kWp.
+12 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Dar es Salaam: 12 h 44 min against 12 h 31 min.
11°best year-round tilt here; across Tanzania it runs from 1° in Arusha to 13° in Sumbawanga.
Of the 223 places in Tanzania, Shelui and one other place get the most sun (6.25 peak sun hours a day) and Katerero and one other place the least (4.97); Mtwara ranks joint 112th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.22 kWh a day here, against 1.14 kWh on average in Tanzania. The shortest day lasts 11 h 31 min, −12 min compared with Dar es Salaam.
Solar forecast for Mtwara, next 48 hours
Expected output of 1 kWp at 70°, computed from the ICON-EU weather model of the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), Europe.
Loading the latest forecast…
Questions about the sun in Mtwara
What is the best solar panel angle in Mtwara?
What time is sunrise and sunset in Mtwara today?
How many peak sun hours does Mtwara get?
How high does the sun get in Mtwara?
Is Mtwara a good place for solar panels?
Places near Mtwara
Put this on your site
A free, live card for Mtwara: where the sun is right now on today's path, a countdown to sunset or sunrise, the daylight change, the moon phase at night and the best panel angle.
Sun positions: NREL Solar Position Algorithm. Climate: NASA POWER monthly climatology (NASA Langley Research Center). Forecast: Deutscher Wetterdienst, ICON-EU (CC BY 4.0), processed. Places: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Time zones: IANA. Sources and licences.