The climate in Chad

Climate zone: tropics

It is warm or hot yearlong. The warmest and at the same time rainiest province is Chari-Baguirmi. The coldest is Ouaddaï.

Temperature records of the last 74 years

The hottest temperature measured from 1949 to January 2023 was reported by the N'djamena weather station. In March 2021, the record temperature of 49.7 °C was reported here. The hottest summer from July to September, based on all 14 weather stations in Chad below 810 meters altitude, was recorded in 1951 with an average temperature of 29.0 °C. This average temperature will normally be measured every four to six hours, thus also including the nights. Normally, this value is 27.3 degrees Celsius.

The coldest day in these 74 years was reported by the Moundou weather station. Here the temperature dropped to 7.0 °C in January 2015. Moundou lies at an altitude of 422 meters above sea level. The coldest winter (January to March) was in 1995 with an average temperature of 22.6 °C. In Chad, it is usual to have about 4.6 degrees more at 27.1 °C for this three-month period.

The most precipitation fell in August 1964. With 19.4 mm per day, the Mongo weather station recorded the highest monthly average of the last 74 years. Incidentally, the region with the most rainfall for the whole year is around Moundou. The driest region is near Faya.

Long-term development of temperatures from 1953 - 1978

In contrast to single record values, long-term development cannot simply be brought about by all weather stations in the country. Both the number and the locations are constantly changing. An average value would give a distorted result. If several measuring stations in particularly cold mountain or coastal regions are added in one year, the average would decrease as a result of this alone. If a station fails during the summer or winter months, it does not provide any values and distorts the average again. The subsequent long-term development was therefore reduced to only 4 measuring points in order to have comparable data over as long a period as possible.

In the years 1953 to 1978, there were only these 4 weather stations in the whole country, which reported continuous temperature values (N'djamena, Sarh, Moundou, Abeche). From these weather reports, we have created a long-term development that shows the monthly average temperatures. The hottest month in this entire period was April 1973 at 32.6 °C. January 1962 was the coldest month with an average temperature of 22.8 °C.

The average annual temperature was about 27.9 °C in the years after 1953 and about 27.4 °C in the last years before 1978. So it has dropped by about 0.5 °C. This trend only applies to the selected 4 weather stations in Chad. A considerably more comprehensive evaluation of global warming has been provided separately.

Data basis and methodology

The data from the individual measuring stations are based on the archives of the German Weather Service, individual values averaged and supplemented by own elements. In order to determine a representative national average, average values were first calculated for each part of the country, which were then summarized at the national level. Thus, if a disproportionate number of weather stations are located in a small area, their number does not affect the national average.