Climate averages 1991–2020
Cotonou weather
in May.
A hot, wet month: the 6th warmest and the 11th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a hot month in Cotonou: daytime highs average 29.0°C and nights cool to about 25.9°C. By daytime temperature it is the 6th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 164 mm of rain on roughly 23 days, which makes May a wet month (the 11th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 12 h 24 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Godomè (8 km away). In May its highs average 29.3°C, about as warm as Cotonou, with 166 mm of rain.
Among the 8 cities listed in Benin, Cotonou ranks 8th of 8 for the warmest May highs and 5th of 8 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 8 cities is 30.6°C; Cotonou is 1.6°C cooler than that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 1.5°C to 27.5°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 164 mm to 259 mm.
The annual picture
May in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Cotonou climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29.4°C25.3°C | 25.3°C | 21 | 6.5 | 11.812 h |
| February | 29.9°C26.1°C | 26.1°C | 27 | 7.9 | 11.912 h |
| March | 30.1°C26.7°C | 26.7°C | 48 | 12.5 | 12.112 h |
| April | 29.8°C26.6°C | 26.6°C | 73 | 15.7 | 12.312 h |
| May, selected | 29.0°C25.9°C | 25.9°C | 164 | 23.3 | 12.412 h |
| June | 27.5°C24.7°C | 24.7°C | 259 | 26.1 | 12.512 h |
| July | 26.4°C24.0°C | 24.0°C | 132 | 18.9 | 12.512 h |
| August | 26.1°C23.6°C | 23.6°C | 73 | 13.3 | 12.312 h |
| September | 26.7°C24.0°C | 24.0°C | 104 | 18.0 | 12.212 h |
| October | 27.8°C24.7°C | 24.7°C | 110 | 20.2 | 12.012 h |
| November | 28.8°C25.7°C | 25.7°C | 49 | 13.8 | 11.812 h |
| December | 29.3°C25.6°C | 25.6°C | 27 | 7.6 | 11.812 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
May in nearby cities
- Godomè in MayBenin · 8 kmHigh 29.3°C · Low 25.7°C · 166 mm rain
- Ekpé in MayBenin · 13 kmHigh 29.2°C · Low 25.7°C · 171 mm rain
- Porto-Novo in MayBenin · 25 kmHigh 29.6°C · Low 25.2°C · 171 mm rain
- Irewe in MayNigeria · 80 kmHigh 29.0°C · Low 25.6°C · 196 mm rain
- Alasia in MayNigeria · 84 kmHigh 29.1°C · Low 25.1°C · 196 mm rain
- Ota in MayNigeria · 97 kmHigh 29.8°C · Low 24.2°C · 218 mm rain
- Bohicon in MayBenin · 98 kmHigh 31.4°C · Low 24.1°C · 132 mm rain
- Ifo in MayNigeria · 99 kmHigh 30.1°C · Low 24.0°C · 218 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Cotonou) is explained once on the Cotonou year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.