Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Addis Ababa Ethiopia

In Addis Ababa, the wet season is mostly cloudy, the dry season is partly cloudy, and it is comfortable year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 48°F to 75°F and is rarely below 42°F or above 80°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best times of year to visit Addis Ababa for warm-weather activities are from mid May to early June and from late September to early April.

The warm season lasts for 4.0 months, from February 7 to June 5, with an average daily high temperature above 73°F. The hottest month of the year in Addis Ababa is May, with an average high of 74°F and low of 55°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.0 months, from July 6 to September 5, with an average daily high temperature below 67°F. The coldest month of the year in Addis Ababa is August, with an average low of 54°F and high of 66°F.

In Addis Ababa, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Addis Ababa begins around August 29 and lasts for 6.7 months, ending around March 19.

The clearest month of the year in Addis Ababa is November, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 61% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around March 19 and lasts for 5.3 months, ending around August 29.

The cloudiest month of the year in Addis Ababa is July, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 74% 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 Addis Ababa varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 3.3 months, from June 8 to September 19, with a greater than 45% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Addis Ababa is August, with an average of 25.8 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 8.7 months, from September 19 to June 8. The month with the fewest wet days in Addis Ababa is December, with an average of 1.2 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 Addis Ababa is August, with an average of 25.8 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 87% on August 3.

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. Addis Ababa experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 9.3 months, from January 20 to October 30, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Addis Ababa is August, with an average rainfall of 8.1 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 2.7 months, from October 30 to January 20. The month with the least rain in Addis Ababa is December, with an average rainfall of 0.2 inches.

The length of the day in Addis Ababa does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 39 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 11 hours, 36 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 12 hours, 39 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:04 AM on May 28, and the latest sunrise is 42 minutes later at 6:46 AM on January 30. The earliest sunset is at 6:00 PM on November 15, and the latest sunset is 48 minutes later at 6:49 PM on July 13.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Addis Ababa 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 Addis Ababa, 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 Addis Ababa experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 8.2 months, from September 26 to June 1, with average wind speeds of more than 6.1 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Addis Ababa is November, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.7 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 3.8 months, from June 1 to September 26. The calmest month of the year in Addis Ababa is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.5 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the west for 2.2 months, from June 20 to August 26, with a peak percentage of 58% on July 25. The wind is most often from the east for 9.8 months, from August 26 to June 20, with a peak percentage of 93% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Addis Ababa 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 times of year to visit Addis Ababa for general outdoor tourist activities are from mid May to early June and from late September to early April, with a peak score in the last week of October.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Addis Ababa for hot-weather activities are from early February to early April and from early May to early June, with a peak score in the second week of March.

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 Addis Ababa 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 2.4 months, from January 23 to April 5, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.7 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Addis Ababa is March, with an average of 7.1 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 1.7 months, from June 26 to August 17, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.2 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Addis Ababa is July, with an average of 4.8 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Addis Ababa are 9.025 deg latitude, 38.747 deg longitude, and 7,890 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Addis Ababa contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 830 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 7,906 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (3,757 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (7,441 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Addis Ababa is covered by herbaceous vegetation (54%) and artificial surfaces (46%), within 10 miles by cropland (64%) and herbaceous vegetation (17%), and within 50 miles by cropland (85%).