Climate and Average Weather Year Round in N'Djamena Chad

In N'Djamena, the wet season is hot, oppressive, and mostly cloudy and the dry season is sweltering, windy, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 59°F to 106°F and is rarely below 53°F or above 110°F.

Based on the beach/pool score, the best time of year to visit N'Djamena for hot-weather activities is from early November to early March.

The hot season lasts for 2.3 months, from March 17 to May 26, with an average daily high temperature above 102°F. The hottest month of the year in N'Djamena is April, with an average high of 105°F and low of 79°F.

The cool season lasts for 1.9 months, from July 16 to September 12, with an average daily high temperature below 91°F. The coldest month of the year in N'Djamena is January, with an average low of 60°F and high of 90°F.

In N'Djamena, 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 N'Djamena begins around October 14 and lasts for 4.7 months, ending around March 6.

The clearest month of the year in N'Djamena is January, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 62% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around March 6 and lasts for 7.3 months, ending around October 14.

The cloudiest month of the year in N'Djamena is August, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 66% 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 N'Djamena varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 3.1 months, from June 19 to September 22, with a greater than 38% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in N'Djamena is August, with an average of 22.3 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 8.9 months, from September 22 to June 19. The month with the fewest wet days in N'Djamena is December, 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 N'Djamena is August, with an average of 22.3 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 75% on August 9.

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. N'Djamena experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 5.6 months, from May 1 to October 19, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in N'Djamena is August, with an average rainfall of 5.6 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 6.4 months, from October 19 to May 1. The month with the least rain in N'Djamena is January, with an average rainfall of -0.0 inches.

The length of the day in N'Djamena does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 50 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 11 hours, 25 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 12 hours, 50 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:33 AM on May 31, and the latest sunrise is 51 minutes later at 6:25 AM on January 25. The earliest sunset is at 5:31 PM on November 17, and the latest sunset is 58 minutes later at 6:29 PM on July 11.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in N'Djamena 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.

N'Djamena experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 6.2 months, from April 20 to October 27, 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 N'Djamena is August, with 30.9 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in N'Djamena is January, with 0.0 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 N'Djamena experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.5 months, from November 6 to April 22, with average wind speeds of more than 8.8 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in N'Djamena is February, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.8 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.5 months, from April 22 to November 6. The calmest month of the year in N'Djamena is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.7 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in N'Djamena varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the east for 2.0 weeks, from April 18 to May 2 and for 3.3 weeks, from October 12 to November 4, with a peak percentage of 48% on October 26. The wind is most often from the south for 5.3 months, from May 2 to October 12, with a peak percentage of 58% on September 8. The wind is most often from the north for 5.5 months, from November 4 to April 18, with a peak percentage of 83% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in N'Djamena 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 N'Djamena for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid December to early February, with a peak score in the first 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 N'Djamena for hot-weather activities is from early November to early March, with a peak score in the first week of February.

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 N'Djamena 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 3.0 months, from February 18 to May 18, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.5 kWh. The brightest month of the year in N'Djamena is April, with an average of 6.8 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.1 months, from July 15 to September 18, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.4 kWh. The darkest month of the year in N'Djamena is August, with an average of 5.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of N'Djamena are 12.107 deg latitude, 15.044 deg longitude, and 981 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of N'Djamena contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 102 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 971 feet. Within 10 miles also contains only modest variations in elevation (108 feet). Within 50 miles also contains only modest variations in elevation (135 feet).

The area within 2 miles of N'Djamena is covered by artificial surfaces (44%) and cropland (16%), within 10 miles by cropland (26%) and sparse vegetation (21%), and within 50 miles by cropland (34%) and grassland (20%).