Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Nouakchott Mauritania

In Nouakchott, the summers are short, hot, and muggy; the winters are short, comfortable, and windy; and it is dry and partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 60°F to 96°F and is rarely below 53°F or above 105°F.

Based on the beach/pool score, the best time of year to visit Nouakchott for hot-weather activities is from early May to late July.

The hot season lasts for 1.7 months, from September 14 to November 5, with an average daily high temperature above 93°F. The hottest month of the year in Nouakchott is September, with an average high of 93°F and low of 79°F.

The cool season lasts for 1.9 months, from December 12 to February 9, with an average daily high temperature below 85°F. The coldest month of the year in Nouakchott is January, with an average low of 60°F and high of 83°F.

In Nouakchott, 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 Nouakchott begins around February 6 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around August 1.

The clearest month of the year in Nouakchott is June, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 82% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around August 1 and lasts for 6.1 months, ending around February 6.

The cloudiest month of the year in Nouakchott is September, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 54% 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 Nouakchott varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 1.9 months, from July 27 to September 23, with a greater than 10% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Nouakchott is August, with an average of 5.2 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 10 months, from September 23 to July 27. The month with the fewest wet days in Nouakchott is May, with an average of 0.0 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 Nouakchott is August, with an average of 5.2 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 20% on August 29.

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. Nouakchott experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 2.6 months, from July 18 to October 5, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Nouakchott is August, with an average rainfall of 1.3 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 9.4 months, from October 5 to July 18. The month with the least rain in Nouakchott is April, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Nouakchott varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 11 hours, 3 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 13 hours, 13 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:27 AM on June 4, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 11 minutes later at 7:38 AM on January 20. The earliest sunset is at 6:26 PM on November 24, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 18 minutes later at 7:43 PM on July 5.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Nouakchott 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.

Nouakchott experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 5.4 months, from May 22 to November 3, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 25% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Nouakchott is August, with 29.9 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in Nouakchott is January, with 0.2 days that are muggy or worse.

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 Nouakchott experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.7 months, from December 12 to August 3, with average wind speeds of more than 11.2 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Nouakchott is May, with an average hourly wind speed of 13.0 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.3 months, from August 3 to December 12. The calmest month of the year in Nouakchott is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.4 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the north for 4.8 months, from January 27 to June 21 and for 2.6 months, from September 18 to December 5, with a peak percentage of 87% on April 21. The wind is most often from the west for 2.9 months, from June 21 to September 18, with a peak percentage of 75% on July 23. The wind is most often from the east for 1.7 months, from December 5 to January 27, with a peak percentage of 60% on January 1.

Nouakchott is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 2.8 months, from July 22 to October 15, with an average temperature above 78°F. The month of the year in Nouakchott with the warmest water is September, with an average temperature of 81°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 5.2 months, from December 25 to June 1, with an average temperature below 68°F. The month of the year in Nouakchott with the coolest water is April, with an average temperature of 65°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Nouakchott 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 Nouakchott for general outdoor tourist activities is from early December to mid June, with a peak score in the third week of January.

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 Nouakchott for hot-weather activities is from early May to late July, with a peak score in the last week of June.

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 Nouakchott 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 3.6 months, from March 16 to July 5, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.8 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Nouakchott is May, with an average of 7.3 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.4 months, from November 10 to January 22, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Nouakchott is December, with an average of 4.6 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Nouakchott are 18.086 deg latitude, -15.979 deg longitude, and 33 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Nouakchott is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 79 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 16 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (135 feet). Within 50 miles also contains only modest variations in elevation (351 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Nouakchott is covered by bare soil (88%) and grassland (12%), within 10 miles by bare soil (68%) and water (29%), and within 50 miles by bare soil (44%) and water (43%).