Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Zalingei Sudan

In Zalingei, the wet season is hot, muggy, and mostly cloudy and the dry season is sweltering and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 58°F to 101°F and is rarely below 51°F or above 105°F.

Based on the beach/pool score, the best times of year to visit Zalingei for hot-weather activities are from mid January to late April, from mid May to late June, and from early September to early December.

The hot season lasts for 3.1 months, from March 2 to June 4, with an average daily high temperature above 98°F. The hottest month of the year in Zalingei is May, with an average high of 100°F and low of 74°F.

The cool season lasts for 1.9 months, from July 16 to September 12, with an average daily high temperature below 88°F. The coldest month of the year in Zalingei is January, with an average low of 59°F and high of 92°F.

In Zalingei, 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 Zalingei begins around October 8 and lasts for 6.0 months, ending around April 8.

The clearest month of the year in Zalingei is January, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 63% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around April 8 and lasts for 6.0 months, ending around October 8.

The cloudiest month of the year in Zalingei is August, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 57% 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 Zalingei varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 2.4 months, from June 29 to September 12, with a greater than 32% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Zalingei is August, with an average of 18.6 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 9.6 months, from September 12 to June 29. The month with the fewest wet days in Zalingei is January, 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 Zalingei is August, with an average of 18.6 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 65% on August 12.

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. Zalingei experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 5.2 months, from May 12 to October 18, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Zalingei is August, with an average rainfall of 6.2 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 6.8 months, from October 18 to May 12. The month with the least rain in Zalingei is January, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Zalingei does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 53 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 11 hours, 22 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 12 hours, 53 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:58 AM on May 31, and the latest sunrise is 54 minutes later at 6:52 AM on January 25. The earliest sunset is at 5:56 PM on November 19, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 0 minutes later at 6:56 PM on July 9.

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

Zalingei experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from June 20 to October 5, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 20% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Zalingei is August, with 24.0 days that are muggy or worse.

The least muggy day of the year is February 8, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.

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

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.0 months, from October 25 to May 23, with average wind speeds of more than 7.2 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Zalingei is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.6 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.0 months, from May 23 to October 25. The calmest month of the year in Zalingei is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.0 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the south for 1.1 weeks, from June 5 to June 13, with a peak percentage of 34% on June 10. The wind is most often from the west for 2.9 months, from June 13 to September 11, with a peak percentage of 60% on July 24. The wind is most often from the east for 8.8 months, from September 11 to June 5, with a peak percentage of 65% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Zalingei 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 Zalingei for general outdoor tourist activities is from early November to early February, with a peak score in the last week of December.

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 Zalingei for hot-weather activities are from mid January to late April, from mid May to late June, and from early September to early December, with a peak score in the last week of October.

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 Zalingei 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 2.5 months, from February 26 to May 10, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.2 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Zalingei is April, with an average of 7.6 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.0 months, from July 5 to September 3, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.9 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Zalingei is August, with an average of 5.6 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Zalingei are 12.909 deg latitude, 23.471 deg longitude, and 2,923 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Zalingei contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 325 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 2,926 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,503 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (5,440 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Zalingei is covered by artificial surfaces (31%), cropland (27%), shrubs (17%), and grassland (13%), within 10 miles by grassland (43%) and shrubs (24%), and within 50 miles by grassland (35%) and trees (31%).