1. WeatherSpark.com
  2. Ethiopia
  3. Amhara

Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Bahir Dar Ethiopia

In Bahir Dar, the wet season is overcast, the dry season is partly cloudy, and it is warm year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 56°F to 87°F and is rarely below 52°F or above 92°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Bahir Dar for warm-weather activities is from early October to late February.

Climate in Bahir Dar

warmhotwarmcomfortablewarmJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNowNow69%69%14%14%clearovercastprecipitation: 16.3 inprecipitation: 16.3 in0.1 in0.1 inmuggy: 0%muggy: 0%drydrytourism score: 7.9tourism score: 7.93.13.1
Bahir Dar weather by month. Click on each chart for more information.

The hot season lasts for 3.6 months, from February 3 to May 24, with an average daily high temperature above 84°F. The hottest month of the year in Bahir Dar is April, with an average high of 86°F and low of 64°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.2 months, from July 2 to September 9, with an average daily high temperature below 75°F. The coldest month of the year in Bahir Dar is August, with an average low of 61°F and high of 72°F.

Average High and Low Temperature in Bahir Dar

Average High and Low Temperature in Bahir DarhotcoolJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0°F0°F10°F10°F20°F20°F30°F30°F40°F40°F50°F50°F60°F60°F70°F70°F80°F80°F90°F90°F100°F100°FDec 2279°FDec 2279°FMar 1987°FMar 1987°F56°F56°F63°F63°FFeb 384°FFeb 384°FMay 2484°FMay 2484°FJul 275°FJul 275°FSep 975°FSep 975°F58°F58°F64°F64°F62°F62°F61°F61°FNowNow
The daily average high (red line) and low (blue line) temperature, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding average perceived temperatures.
AverageJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
High 82°F85°F87°F86°F84°F79°F73°F72°F75°F76°F77°F79°F
Temp. 69°F72°F74°F75°F74°F70°F66°F66°F68°F67°F67°F67°F
Low 57°F60°F63°F64°F64°F63°F61°F61°F61°F58°F57°F56°F

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the entire year of hourly average temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day of the year, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

Average Hourly Temperature in Bahir Dar

Average Hourly Temperature in Bahir DarJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMNowNowcoolcoolcoolcomfortablecomfortablewarmwarmhot
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The average hourly temperature, color coded into bands. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

Mali, Guinea (3,359 miles away) is the far-away foreign place with temperatures most similar to Bahir Dar (view comparison).

Map
Marker
© OpenStreetMap contributors

Compare Bahir Dar to another city:

Map

In Bahir Dar, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Bahir Dar begins around September 14 and lasts for 7.5 months, ending around April 30.

The clearest month of the year in Bahir Dar is November, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 68% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around April 30 and lasts for 4.5 months, ending around September 14.

The cloudiest month of the year in Bahir Dar is July, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 84% of the time.

Cloud Cover Categories in Bahir Dar

Cloud Cover Categories in Bahir DarclearerclearercloudierJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%Nov 1969%Nov 1969%Jul 2414%Jul 2414%Sep 1441%Sep 1441%Apr 3041%Apr 3041%NowNowclearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercast
0% clear 20% mostly clear 40% partly cloudy 60% mostly cloudy 80% overcast 100%
The percentage of time spent in each cloud cover band, categorized by the percentage of the sky covered by clouds.
FractionJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Cloudier 41%43%52%56%59%71%84%78%58%41%32%35%
Clearer 59%57%48%44%41%29%16%22%42%59%68%65%

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Bahir Dar varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.3 months, from May 16 to September 25, with a greater than 49% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Bahir Dar is August, with an average of 29.4 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.7 months, from September 25 to May 16. The month with the fewest wet days in Bahir Dar is January, with an average of 0.5 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Bahir Dar is August, with an average of 29.4 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 97% on August 5.

Daily Chance of Precipitation in Bahir Dar

Daily Chance of Precipitation in Bahir DarwetdrydryJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%Aug 597%Aug 597%Jan 141%Jan 141%May 1649%May 1649%Sep 2549%Sep 2549%NowNowrain
The percentage of days in which various types of precipitation are observed, excluding trace quantities: rain alone, snow alone, and mixed (both rain and snow fell in the same day).
Days ofJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Rain 0.5d1.0d4.3d7.2d15.2d23.0d29.2d29.4d19.6d7.7d2.6d1.0d

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Bahir Dar experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 8.5 months, from March 3 to November 18, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Bahir Dar is July, with an average rainfall of 15.4 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from November 18 to March 3. The month with the least rain in Bahir Dar is January, with an average rainfall of 0.2 inches.

Average Monthly Rainfall in Bahir Dar

Average Monthly Rainfall in Bahir DarrainJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 in0 in5 in5 in10 in10 in15 in15 in20 in20 in25 in25 inJul 2816.3 inJul 2816.3 inJan 300.1 inJan 300.1 inMar 30.5 inMar 30.5 inNov 180.5 inNov 180.5 inNowNow
The average rainfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average snowfall.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Rainfall 0.2″0.2″0.9″1.7″4.5″8.9″15.4″14.5″7.0″2.3″0.6″0.2″

The length of the day in Bahir Dar does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 48 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 11 hours, 27 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 12 hours, 48 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in Bahir Dar

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in Bahir DarJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 hr24 hr4 hr20 hr8 hr16 hr12 hr12 hr16 hr8 hr20 hr4 hr24 hr0 hr12 hr, 6 minMar 2012 hr, 6 minMar 2012 hr, 48 minJun 2012 hr, 48 minJun 2012 hr, 7 minSep 2212 hr, 7 minSep 2211 hr, 27 minDec 2111 hr, 27 minDec 21nightnightdayNowNow
The number of hours during which the Sun is visible (black line). From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray), the color bands indicate: full daylight, twilight (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and full night.
Hours ofJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight 11.5h11.8h12.1h12.4h12.7h12.8h12.7h12.5h12.2h11.9h11.6h11.5h

The earliest sunrise is at 6:05 AM on May 30, and the latest sunrise is 50 minutes later at 6:55 AM on January 26. The earliest sunset is at 6:02 PM on November 18, and the latest sunset is 56 minutes later at 6:58 PM on July 11.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Bahir Dar during 2024.

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight in Bahir Dar

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight in Bahir DarJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AMMay 306:05 AMMay 306:05 AM6:58 PMJul 116:58 PMJul 11Nov 186:02 PMNov 186:02 PM6:55 AMJan 266:55 AMJan 26daynightnightSolarMidnightSolarMidnightSolarNoonSunriseSunset
The solar day over the course of the year 2024. From bottom to top, the black lines are the previous solar midnight, sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the next solar midnight. The day, twilights (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and night are indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray.

The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation.

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in Bahir Dar

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in Bahir DarJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AM0000101010102020202030303030404040405050505060606070708000001010101020202020303030304040404050505050606060707080805590NowNow
northeastsouthwest
Solar elevation and azimuth over the course of the year 2024. The black lines are lines of constant solar elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon, in degrees). The background color fills indicate the azimuth (the compass bearing) of the sun. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries of the cardinal compass points indicate the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in Bahir Dar

The time in which the moon is above the horizon (light blue area), with new moons (dark gray lines) and full moons (blue lines) indicated. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level in Bahir Dar, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

Humidity Comfort Levels in Bahir Dar

Humidity Comfort Levels in Bahir DarJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%Jul 20%Jul 20%NowNowhumidhumidcomfortablecomfortabledrydry
dry 55°F comfortable 60°F humid 65°F muggy 70°F oppressive 75°F miserable
The percentage of time spent at various humidity comfort levels, categorized by dew point.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Muggy days 0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Bahir Dar experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.3 months, from January 21 to July 30, with average wind speeds of more than 5.7 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Bahir Dar is May, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.7 months, from July 30 to January 21. The calmest month of the year in Bahir Dar is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.9 miles per hour.

Average Wind Speed in Bahir Dar

Average Wind Speed in Bahir DarwindyJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 mph0 mph1 mph1 mph2 mph2 mph3 mph3 mph4 mph4 mph5 mph5 mph6 mph6 mph7 mph7 mph8 mph8 mph9 mph9 mph10 mph10 mphJun 26.6 mphJun 26.6 mphSep 104.8 mphSep 104.8 mphJan 215.7 mphJan 215.7 mphJul 305.7 mphJul 305.7 mphNowNow
The average of mean hourly wind speeds (dark gray line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Wind Speed (mph) 5.66.16.16.46.56.35.85.34.95.45.05.1

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Bahir Dar varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the east for 2.1 months, from September 25 to November 27, with a peak percentage of 59% on October 20. The wind is most often from the north for 9.9 months, from November 27 to September 25, with a peak percentage of 38% on January 1.

Wind Direction in Bahir Dar

Wind Direction in Bahir DarNENJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%100%20%80%40%60%60%40%80%20%100%0%NowNowwesteastnorthsouth
northeastsouthwest
The percentage of hours in which the mean wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions, excluding hours in which the mean wind speed is less than 1.0 mph. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries are the percentage of hours spent in the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Bahir Dar throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Bahir Dar for general outdoor tourist activities is from early October to late February, with a peak score in the third week of November.

Tourism Score in Bahir Dar

Tourism Score in Bahir Darbest timebest timeJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec002244668810107.97.93.13.1NowNowtemperaturetemperature precipitationprecipitationtourism score
The tourism score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Bahir Dar for hot-weather activities is from early February to early May, with a peak score in the first week of April.

Beach/Pool Score in Bahir Dar

Beach/Pool Score in Bahir Darbest timeJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec002244668810106.06.01.31.3NowNowtemperaturetemperature cloudscloudsprecipitationprecipitationbeach/pool score
The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

Temperatures in Bahir Dar are sufficiently warm year round that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss the growing season in these terms. We nevertheless include the chart below as an illustration of the distribution of temperatures experienced throughout the year.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in Bahir Dar

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in Bahir DarJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%100%Jan 1100%Jan 1100%Jul 2100%Jul 2NowNowcoolcomfortablewarmhotcold
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The percentage of time spent in various temperature bands. The black line is the percentage chance that a given day is within the growing season.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Growing Degree Days in Bahir Dar

Growing Degree Days in Bahir DarJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0°F0°F1,000°F1,000°F2,000°F2,000°F3,000°F3,000°F4,000°F4,000°F5,000°F5,000°F6,000°F6,000°F7,000°F7,000°FJan 690°FJan 690°FMar 271,800°FMar 271,800°FDec 317,009°FDec 317,009°FNowNow
The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of the year, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from February 1 to May 16, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.5 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Bahir Dar is April, with an average of 7.0 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 1.7 months, from June 30 to August 21, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.9 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Bahir Dar is July, with an average of 4.5 kWh.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in Bahir Dar

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in Bahir DarbrightdarkJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 kWh0 kWh1 kWh1 kWh2 kWh2 kWh3 kWh3 kWh4 kWh4 kWh5 kWh5 kWh6 kWh6 kWh7 kWh7 kWh8 kWh8 kWh9 kWh9 kWhApr 77.1 kWhApr 77.1 kWhJul 244.3 kWhJul 244.3 kWhFeb 16.5 kWhFeb 16.5 kWhMay 166.5 kWhMay 166.5 kWhNowNow
The average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground per square meter (orange line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Solar Energy (kWh) 6.36.76.97.06.55.64.54.86.16.76.46.2

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Bahir Dar are 11.594 deg latitude, 37.391 deg longitude, and 5,902 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Bahir Dar contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 164 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 5,885 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,939 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (7,638 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Bahir Dar is covered by cropland (93%), within 10 miles by cropland (79%) and water (15%), and within 50 miles by cropland (68%) and water (15%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Bahir Dar, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Bahir Dar is further than 200 kilometers from the nearest reliable weather station, so the weather-related data on this page were taken entirely from NASA's MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

The temperature and dew point estimates are corrected for the difference between the reference elevation of the MERRA-2 grid cell and the elevation of Bahir Dar, according to the International Standard Atmosphere .

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Disclaimer

The information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site.

We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands.

We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader.

Please review our full terms contained on our Terms of Service page.