The climate in Kenya
Average daytime and nighttime temperaturesAll climate diagrams on this page come from the collected data of 19 weather stations.
Weather stations at an altitude above 2130m have not been included.
All data correspond to the average monthly values of the last 20 years.
Back to overview: Kenya
Climate zone: tropics
It is warm to hot all year round, inviting bathing at average water temperatures of 27 degrees. The warmest and also rainiest greaster region is North-Eastern. The coldest is Nyanza.
It is warm to hot all year round, inviting bathing at average water temperatures of 27 degrees. The warmest and also rainiest greaster region is North-Eastern. The coldest is Nyanza.
Hours of sunshine per day

Rain days per month

Precipitation in mm/day

Water temperature

Relative humidity in %

Absolute humidity in g/m³

Greater regions in Kenya
All figures per year. For detailed climate data click on the name of the region.Greater region | Temperature max Ø day | Temperature min Ø night | Sunshine hours | Rainy days | Precipitation | Humidity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Central | 25.4 °C | 14.0 °C | 2,373 h | 83 | 814 l | 66.0 % |
Coast | 30.5 °C | 23.4 °C | 2,884 h | 92 | 978 l | 79.0 % |
Eastern | 25.6 °C | 15.2 °C | 2,409 h | 78 | 788 l | 66.0 % |
Nairobi Area | 25.3 °C | 14.2 °C | 2,336 h | 80 | 814 l | 66.0 % |
North-Eastern | 35.0 °C | 24.0 °C | 2,993 h | 29 | 299 l | 56.0 % |
Nyanza | 24.1 °C | 12.3 °C | 2,847 h | 126 | 1,343 l | 69.0 % |
Rift Valley | 27.6 °C | 15.6 °C | 2,774 h | 96 | 909 l | 62.0 % |
Western | 25.4 °C | 13.3 °C | 2,519 h | 112 | 1,091 l | 66.0 % |
Temperature records of the last 74 years
The hottest temperature measured from 1949 to January 2023 was reported by the Mandera weather station. In April 2019, the record temperature of 41.6 °C was reported here. The hottest summer from July to September, based on all 17 weather stations in Kenya below 2,130 meters altitude, was recorded in 1972 with an average temperature of 25.9 °C. This average temperature will normally be measured every four to six hours, thus also including the nights. Normally, this value is 23.6 degrees Celsius.The coldest day in these 74 years was reported by the Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta Airport weather station. Here the temperature dropped to 2.8 °C in July 2002. Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta Airport lies at an altitude of 1,624 meters above sea level. The coldest winter (January to March) was in 1957 with an average temperature of 17.8 °C. In Kenya, it is usual to have about 8.4 degrees more at 26.2 °C for this three-month period.
The most precipitation fell in November 1994. With 22.0 mm per day, the Meru 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 Kitale. The driest region is near Lodwar.