Climate of Gabon
Where is the country of Gabon located? Gabon, officially the Gabonese Republic, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Gabon has two rainy seasons and two drier periods. The short rainy season occurs in October and November. The long rainy season starts in February and lasts until mid-May. The short dry season (December and January) is still quite wet. The long dry season (June to September) is considerably drier, with very little rainfall recorded in July.
Bright sun
Despite the fact that the sun is quite often hidden behind a cloud cover, the sun strength is almost continuously high. Even under a completely closed cloud cover, the UV index can still be just as high as during a completely sunny summer day in the Netherlands. In sunny weather, the UV index is in the highest regions. Gabon owes this to its location on the equator, which means that the country is relatively close to the sun all year round and the sun’s rays reach Gabon fairly straight in the middle of the day.
Temperature
The average maximum temperature throughout Gabon is between 26 and 32 degrees Celsius throughout the calendar year. The period from June to August is generally slightly cooler, while the highest temperatures are usually measured in March and April. The minimums are if possible even more constant, they are on average between 19 and 24 degrees.
Climate figures
The figures below are based on long-term average climate statistics. The temperatures are displayed in degrees Celsius (°C).
| Maximum temperature | Minimum temperature | Hours of sunshine per day | Days of rainfall per month | Water temperature | |
| January | 29℃ | 23℃ | 5 | 13 | 28℃ |
| February | 29℃ | 23℃ | 6 | 12 | 29℃ |
| March | 30℃ | 23℃ | 5 | 16 | 29℃ |
| April | 29℃ | 23℃ | 6 | 16 | 29℃ |
| May | 29℃ | 23℃ | 5 | 14 | 28℃ |
| June | 27℃ | 22℃ | 4 | 5 | 26℃ |
| July | 26℃ | 21℃ | 4 | 4 | 25℃ |
| August | 26℃ | 21℃ | 3 | 7 | 26℃ |
| September | 27℃ | 22℃ | 3 | 14 | 26℃ |
| October | 27℃ | 22℃ | 4 | 21 | 27℃ |
| November | 28℃ | 22℃ | 4 | 20 | 27℃ |
| December | 29℃ | 23℃ | 5 | 14 | 28℃ |
Best time to visit Gabon
Do you want to know when is the best time to travel to Gabon? You can determine the best time to travel to a destination based on the weather and climate. In addition, there are other factors that are not directly related to the weather and that can influence the best travel periods for a travel destination. Think, for example, of holidays or festive periods, which makes traveling more interesting or not, because daily life comes to a standstill as a result. Gabon is a country that lies around the equator in the western part of Africa. This geographical location makes it tropical climates that determine the weather in Gabon. The tropical savanna climate is most common in Gabon. Some areas have a tropical monsoon climate. There is a clear drier period. If you look at the topographic map of Gabon, you will notice that the coastal areas mainly consist of lowlands, but that almost three quarters of Gabon consists of high plains, hills and mountains. The location has quite a bit of influence on the precipitation patterns and the temperature. For example, the maximum temperatures in the higher areas are somewhat moderate, so that the mercury there remains around 25 to 27 degrees in the ‘cooler’ months.
Best months
Large parts of Gabon have one dry season and one rainy season. Some areas have a long and short dry season and a long and short rainy season. This is the case, for example, in northern Gabon, which lies east of Equatorial Guinea. Here, the months of December and January form the short dry period and the months of June to the beginning of September are the long dry season. In the rest of Gabon there is one real dry season: June to September. This immediately applies as the best time to travel to Gabon.
