The climate in Nigeria

Climate zone: tropics

The climate in Nigeria is very warm, with an annual average of 33 degrees, but has few truly tropical and sticky months. 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 West. The coldest is South East. Due to less rain, the best time for traveling is from November to April. The most rain days occur from from June to October.

Temperature records of the last 71 years

The hottest temperature measured from 1952 to October 2023 was reported by the Yola weather station. In April 2010, the record temperature of 46.4 °C was reported here. The hottest summer from July to September, based on all 10 weather stations in Nigeria below 1,100 meters altitude, was recorded in 1981 with an average temperature of 26.9 °C. This average temperature will normally be measured every four to six hours, thus also including the nights. Normally, this value is 25.7 degrees Celsius.

The coldest day in these 71 years was reported by the Yola weather station. Here the temperature dropped to 11.1 °C in November 2015. Yola lies at an altitude of 186 meters above sea level. The coldest winter (January to March) was in 1957 with an average temperature of 26.6 °C. In Nigeria, it is usual to have about 1.1 degrees more at 27.6 °C for this three-month period.

The most precipitation fell in July 1955. With 25.8 mm per day, the Port Harcourt weather station recorded the highest monthly average of the last 71 years. Incidentally, the region with the most rainfall for the whole year is around Port Harcourt. The driest region is near Maiduguri.

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. There are 11 stations in Nigeria itself. In 19 cases, neighboring but nearby weather stations were also used to obtain more accurate values.