The climate in Togo

Climate zone: tropics

The climate in Togo 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 26 degrees. The warmest and rainiest part of the country is Savanes. The coldest is Plateaux. Due to less rain, the best time for traveling is from November to March. Most precipitation falls from June to October.

Temperature records of the last 74 years

The hottest temperature measured from 1949 to January 2023 was reported by the Sokode weather station. In March 2017, the record temperature of 47.5 °C was reported here. The hottest summer from July to September, based on all 8 weather stations in Togo below 640 meters altitude, was recorded in 2019 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 25.0 degrees Celsius. The average maximum daily temperature at that time was 30.3 °C.

The coldest day in these 74 years was reported by the Lome weather station. Here the temperature dropped to 5.9 °C in February 2019. Lome lies at an altitude of 20 meters above sea level. The coldest winter (January to March) was in 1976 with an average temperature of 27.0 °C. In Togo, it is usual to have about 1.3 degrees more at 28.3 °C for this three-month period.

The most precipitation fell in September 1991. With 23.7 mm per day, the Dapaong 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 Niamtougou. The driest region is near Lome.

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 9 stations in Togo itself. In 3 cases, neighboring but nearby weather stations were also used to obtain more accurate values.