Climate of Niger

Climate of Niger

Where is the country of Niger located? Niger is a country in Africa. The northern half of the country named after the river Niger lies in the Sahara, the southern part is in the Sahel. Central to Niger are the Aïr Mountains, which partly have a volcanic origin. The south of the country consists of low plains, where there is mainly savanna vegetation around the Niger River. Niger has two arid climates due to its location on the African continent. Most of the country has a warm desert climate (type BWh according to the Köppen climate classification ). The southern strip, bordering Nigeria, Benin and Burkina Faso, has a warm steppe climate (type BSh).

Warm, dry winters

Niger has to deal with very warm to downright hot weather conditions almost all year round. Temperatures of around or above forty degrees occur in most of Niger almost all year round. In winter it can still be called downright warm with an average of 25 to 34 degrees during the day. The only cooling takes place in the nights, where the mercury in the higher areas in the north can drop to temperatures around freezing. In the vegetated areas in the south of the country, the mercury is still at a fairly high 15 to 20 degrees in winter, even at night. There is hardly any rain in the winter. Only in the subtropical zones in the extreme south do you have a chance of a single splash of rain in the winter months. Snowfall is not normally observed in Niger.

Hot summers

The summer months are without exception hot. Average maximum temperatures are already around forty degrees Celsius or slightly higher around April/May. As soon as the thermometers have reached their highest values ​​of the year, the rainy season slowly starts. For the desert plains in the north, this means there is a chance of a single day with some rain or falling dew. Sometimes a year goes by in which there is no significant rain at all. In the south there are generally somewhat larger amounts of precipitation. The capital Niamey even accounts for 540 millimeters of precipitation on an annual basis. This is an average, where the exact amount in a specific year can easily be several hundred millimeters higher or lower. The wettest areas in Niger register at least 600 millimeters of rain per year.

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
January 32℃ 17℃ 9 0
February 35℃ 20℃ 10 0
March 39℃ 24℃ 8 1
April 41℃ 27℃ 8 1
May 41℃ 28℃ 8 4
June 39℃ 27℃ 7 7
July 35℃ 25℃ 8 12
August 33℃ 24℃ 7 13
September 35℃ 24℃ 8 9
October 38℃ 24℃ 9 2
November 37℃ 20℃ 9 0
December 34℃ 18℃ 8 0

Best time to visit Niger

Do you want to know when is the best time to travel to Niger? 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. The Republic of Niger is a central country located in the northern half of Africa. The climate of Niger is mainly determined by its location. The northern half of the country is in the Sahara and the southern part is in the Sahel. Niger is therefore one of the hottest countries in the world. As a result, only limited agriculture is possible, which is partly the reason that Niger is also one of the poorest countries on Earth. The north of Niger is very dry. The annual rainfall there is somewhere between five and ten millimeters. That is about one-hundredth of what falls from the sky in the Netherlands within a year. As you go further south, the precipitation slowly increases. In the halfway town of Agadez, you can count on slightly more than a hundred millimeters of rain per year. The capital Niamey receives almost 600 millimeters of rain every year. That’s pretty much the wettest place in Niger. The African monsoon brings clouds and rain here from the Atlantic in mid-year. As a result, the rain falls mainly in the period from mid-June to mid-September.

Best months

Temperatures are a stumbling block to traveling to Niger for much of the year. Temperatures skyrocket from February-March. In the Sahara, the maximum temperatures from April to October are between 38 and 46 degrees Celsius. In the southern regions of the Sahel, the 40-degree limit is already broken in March, but you see that during the monsoon the daytime temperatures drop somewhat. With maximums of 32 to 38 degrees, it is still very warm, especially due to the increasing stuffiness.

The best time to go to Niger is from December to mid-February. This is the season with the best temperatures, lots of sun and especially dry air.

Niger