Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Gondar Ethiopia

In Gondar, the wet season is comfortable and overcast and the dry season is warm and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 51°F to 84°F and is rarely below 48°F or above 88°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Gondar for warm-weather activities is from mid October to late April.

The warm season lasts for 3.8 months, from January 29 to May 22, with an average daily high temperature above 80°F. The hottest month of the year in Gondar is April, with an average high of 83°F and low of 60°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.3 months, from July 4 to September 12, with an average daily high temperature below 71°F. The coldest month of the year in Gondar is July, with an average low of 56°F and high of 69°F.

In Gondar, 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 Gondar begins around September 19 and lasts for 8.2 months, ending around May 24.

The clearest month of the year in Gondar is November, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 69% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around May 24 and lasts for 3.8 months, ending around September 19.

The cloudiest month of the year in Gondar is July, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 86% of the time.

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

The wetter season lasts 3.9 months, from May 26 to September 24, with a greater than 49% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Gondar is August, with an average of 29.2 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 8.1 months, from September 24 to May 26. The month with the fewest wet days in Gondar is January, with an average of 0.3 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 Gondar is August, with an average of 29.2 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 96% on August 1.

Rainfall

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. Gondar experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.9 months, from March 19 to November 14, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Gondar is August, with an average rainfall of 14.9 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 4.1 months, from November 14 to March 19. The month with the least rain in Gondar is January, with an average rainfall of 0.1 inches.

The length of the day in Gondar does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 52 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 11 hours, 23 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 12 hours, 52 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:03 AM on May 31, and the latest sunrise is 53 minutes later at 6:56 AM on January 25. The earliest sunset is at 6:00 PM on November 18, and the latest sunset is 59 minutes later at 7:00 PM on July 9.

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

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.

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 Gondar, 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.

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 Gondar experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 8.2 months, from October 4 to June 12, with average wind speeds of more than 5.8 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Gondar is February, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.0 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 3.8 months, from June 12 to October 4. The calmest month of the year in Gondar is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.7 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the north for 2.3 months, from May 13 to July 21 and for 1.5 months, from August 1 to September 15, with a peak percentage of 60% on June 14. The wind is most often from the west for 1.6 weeks, from July 21 to August 1, with a peak percentage of 45% on July 26. The wind is most often from the east for 7.9 months, from September 15 to May 13, with a peak percentage of 44% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Gondar 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 Gondar for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid October to late April, with a peak score in the first week of February.

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 Gondar for hot-weather activities is from mid February to early May, with a peak score in the first week of April.

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 Gondar 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.

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.

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 3.1 months, from February 4 to May 9, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.6 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Gondar is April, with an average of 6.9 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 1.7 months, from July 2 to August 23, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.0 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Gondar is July, with an average of 4.6 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Gondar are 12.600 deg latitude, 37.467 deg longitude, and 7,221 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Gondar contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,286 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 7,053 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (4,104 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (7,776 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Gondar is covered by cropland (100%), within 10 miles by cropland (77%) and shrubs (18%), and within 50 miles by cropland (58%) and shrubs (14%).