The climate in Senegal

Climate zone: tropics

The climate in Senegal is very warm, with an annual average of 35 degrees, but has few truly tropical and sticky months. It is warm to hot all year round, inviting bathing at average water temperatures of 25 degrees. The warmest and rainiest part of the country is Matam. The coldest is Dakar. Due to less rain, the best time for traveling is from November to May. The most rain days occur from from June to September.

Temperature records of the last 74 years

The hottest temperature measured from 1949 to January 2023 was reported by the Dakar Yoff weather station. In May 2002, the record temperature of 50.5 °C was reported here. The hottest summer from July to September, based on all 13 weather stations in Senegal , was recorded in 2002 with an average temperature of 29.3 °C. This average temperature will normally be measured every four to six hours, thus also including the nights. Normally, this value is 28.2 degrees Celsius. The average maximum daily temperature at that time was 34.6 °C.

The coldest day in these 74 years was reported by the Linguere weather station. Here the temperature dropped to 1.4 °C in January 2019. Linguere lies at an altitude of 21 meters above sea level. The coldest winter (January to March) was in 1949 with an average temperature of 20.2 °C. In Senegal, it is usual to have about 5.5 degrees more at 25.7 °C for this three-month period.

The most precipitation fell in August 1958. With 29.0 mm per day, the Ziguinchor 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 Ziguinchor. The driest region is near Podor.

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 14 stations in Senegal itself. In one case, a nearby weather station from a neighboring country was used to obtain more accurate values.