Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Axum EthiopiaIn Axum, 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 47°F or above 87°F. Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Axum for warm-weather activities is from early October to early May. Average Temperature in AxumThe warm season lasts for 4.0 months, from January 30 to May 29, with an average daily high temperature above 80°F. The hottest month of the year in Axum is May, with an average high of 81°F and low of 63°F. The cool season lasts for 1.6 months, from July 8 to August 27, with an average daily high temperature below 71°F. The coldest month of the year in Axum is August, with an average low of 59°F and high of 70°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. Miahuatlán de Porfirio Díaz, Mexico (8,741 miles away); Marcala, Honduras (8,314 miles); and Pakxong, Laos (4,499 miles) are the far-away foreign places with temperatures most similar to Axum (view comparison). CloudsIn Axum, 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 Axum begins around September 27 and lasts for 7.9 months, ending around May 23. The clearest month of the year in Axum is November, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 77% of the time. The cloudier part of the year begins around May 23 and lasts for 4.1 months, ending around September 27. The cloudiest month of the year in Axum is July, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 84% of the time.
PrecipitationA wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Axum varies very significantly throughout the year. The wetter season lasts 2.5 months, from June 23 to September 8, with a greater than 36% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Axum is August, with an average of 20.5 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation. The drier season lasts 9.5 months, from September 8 to June 23. The month with the fewest wet days in Axum is January, with an average of 0.2 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 Axum is August, with an average of 20.5 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 73% on August 3.
RainfallTo 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. Axum experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall. The rainy period of the year lasts for 6.5 months, from April 5 to October 20, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Axum is August, with an average rainfall of 7.3 inches. The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.5 months, from October 20 to April 5. The month with the least rain in Axum is January, with an average rainfall of 0.1 inches.
SunThe length of the day in Axum varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 11 hours, 18 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 12 hours, 58 minutes of daylight.
The earliest sunrise is at 5:55 AM on June 1, and the latest sunrise is 58 minutes later at 6:53 AM on January 23. The earliest sunset is at 5:53 PM on November 20, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 4 minutes later at 6:57 PM on July 8. Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Axum during 2024. 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. MoonThe 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. HumidityWe 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 Axum, 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.
WindThis 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 Axum experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year. The windier part of the year lasts for 7.3 months, from October 6 to May 15, with average wind speeds of more than 6.7 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Axum is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.2 miles per hour. The calmer time of year lasts for 4.7 months, from May 15 to October 6. The calmest month of the year in Axum is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.3 miles per hour.
The predominant average hourly wind direction in Axum varies throughout the year. The wind is most often from the south for 3.6 weeks, from March 11 to April 5, with a peak percentage of 39% on March 28. The wind is most often from the east for 1.9 months, from April 5 to June 1 and for 6.0 months, from September 12 to March 11, with a peak percentage of 50% on May 12. The wind is most often from the west for 3.0 months, from June 1 to September 1, with a peak percentage of 82% on July 16. Best Time of Year to VisitTo characterize how pleasant the weather is in Axum 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 Axum for general outdoor tourist activities is from early October to early May, with a peak score in the third week of November. Tourism Score in AxumThe 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 Axum for hot-weather activities is from early February to late May, with a peak score in the first week of April. Beach/Pool Score in AxumMethodologyFor 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. Growing SeasonDefinitions 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 Axum 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. Solar EnergyThis 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 3.2 months, from February 19 to May 24, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.9 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Axum is April, with an average of 7.4 kWh. The darker period of the year lasts for 1.6 months, from July 7 to August 27, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.2 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Axum is August, with an average of 4.8 kWh.
TopographyFor the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Axum are 14.121 deg latitude, 38.723 deg longitude, and 6,991 ft elevation. The topography within 2 miles of Axum contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 889 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 7,063 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (3,209 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (9,531 feet). The area within 2 miles of Axum is covered by cropland (100%), within 10 miles by cropland (93%), and within 50 miles by cropland (68%) and shrubs (15%). Data SourcesThis report illustrates the typical weather in Axum, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016. Temperature and Dew PointThere is only a single weather station, Asmara Airport, in our network suitable to be used as a proxy for the historical temperature and dew point records of Axum. At a distance of 132 kilometers from Axum, closer than our threshold of 150 kilometers, this station is deemed sufficiently nearby to be relied upon as our primary source for temperature and dew point records. The station records are corrected for the elevation difference between the station and Axum according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations. Please note that the station records themselves may additionally have been back-filled using other nearby stations or the MERRA-2 reanalysis. Other DataAll 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. All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . 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. 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. DisclaimerThe 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. |