Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Bonga Ethiopia

In Bonga, the wet season is overcast, the dry season is partly cloudy, and it is warm year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 49°F to 80°F and is rarely below 43°F or above 86°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Bonga for warm-weather activities is from late October to mid March.

The warm season lasts for 4.7 months, from November 18 to April 8, with an average daily high temperature above 79°F. The hottest month of the year in Bonga is March, with an average high of 80°F and low of 56°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.1 months, from June 24 to August 28, with an average daily high temperature below 73°F. The coldest month of the year in Bonga is December, with an average low of 49°F and high of 79°F.

In Bonga, 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 Bonga begins around August 16 and lasts for 6.2 months, ending around February 22.

The clearest month of the year in Bonga is December, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 47% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around February 22 and lasts for 5.8 months, ending around August 16.

The cloudiest month of the year in Bonga is April, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 78% 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 Bonga varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 7.4 months, from March 17 to October 29, with a greater than 51% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Bonga is May, with an average of 25.5 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 4.6 months, from October 29 to March 17. The month with the fewest wet days in Bonga is January, with an average of 4.9 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 Bonga is May, with an average of 25.5 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 88% on April 28.

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. Bonga experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Bonga. The month with the most rain in Bonga is May, with an average rainfall of 10.5 inches.

The month with the least rain in Bonga is January, with an average rainfall of 1.2 inches.

The length of the day in Bonga does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 32 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 11 hours, 42 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 12 hours, 33 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:17 AM on May 26, and the latest sunrise is 37 minutes later at 6:54 AM on January 31. The earliest sunset is at 6:13 PM on November 13, and the latest sunset is 43 minutes later at 6:56 PM on July 14.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Bonga 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 Bonga, 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, staying within 1% of 1% 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 Bonga does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining within 0.4 miles per hour of 2.1 miles per hour throughout.

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

The wind is most often from the east for 2.2 months, from February 23 to April 29 and for 2.5 months, from October 4 to December 20, with a peak percentage of 57% on October 30. The wind is most often from the south for 5.2 months, from April 29 to October 4, with a peak percentage of 66% on June 20. The wind is most often from the north for 2.1 months, from December 20 to February 23, with a peak percentage of 44% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Bonga 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 Bonga for general outdoor tourist activities is from late October to mid March, 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 time of year to visit Bonga for hot-weather activities is from late November to mid March, with a peak score in the third 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 Bonga 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 2.3 months, from October 17 to December 27, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.0 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Bonga is November, with an average of 6.3 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.2 months, from June 5 to August 12, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Bonga is July, with an average of 4.8 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Bonga are 7.283 deg latitude, 36.233 deg longitude, and 5,236 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Bonga contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 938 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 5,470 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (3,652 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (9,226 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Bonga is covered by cropland (93%), within 10 miles by cropland (80%) and trees (17%), and within 50 miles by cropland (54%) and grassland (24%).