Climate averages 1991–2020
Ouagadougou weather
in May.
A very hot, fairly dry month: the 3rd warmest and the 7th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a very hot month in Ouagadougou: daytime highs average 38.4°C and nights cool to about 27.2°C. By daytime temperature it is the 3rd warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 26 mm of rain on roughly 6 days, which makes May a fairly dry month (the 7th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 12 h 41 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Saaba (13 km away). In May its highs average 38.3°C, about as warm as Ouagadougou, with 26 mm of rain.
Among the 10 cities listed in Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou ranks 3rd of 10 for the warmest May highs and joint 4th of 10 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 10 cities is 37.6°C; Ouagadougou is 0.8°C warmer than that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 2.8°C to 35.6°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 26 mm to 52 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
Ouagadougou climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32.8°C17.7°C | 17.7°C | 0.3 | 0.1 | 11.511 h |
| February | 35.7°C19.9°C | 19.9°C | 0.7 | 0.2 | 11.712 h |
| March | 38.6°C23.2°C | 23.2°C | 1.9 | 0.7 | 12.112 h |
| April | 39.6°C26.4°C | 26.4°C | 12 | 3.0 | 12.412 h |
| May, selected | 38.4°C27.2°C | 27.2°C | 26 | 6.3 | 12.713 h |
| June | 35.6°C25.6°C | 25.6°C | 52 | 9.9 | 12.813 h |
| July | 32.2°C23.8°C | 23.8°C | 122 | 17.7 | 12.813 h |
| August | 30.2°C22.8°C | 22.8°C | 199 | 22.3 | 12.513 h |
| September | 31.5°C23.1°C | 23.1°C | 108 | 14.7 | 12.212 h |
| October | 34.4°C23.7°C | 23.7°C | 33 | 6.0 | 11.912 h |
| November | 35.5°C20.5°C | 20.5°C | 0.9 | 0.3 | 11.612 h |
| December | 33.4°C18.2°C | 18.2°C | 0 | 0.0 | 11.411 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
- Saaba in MayBurkina Faso · 13 kmHigh 38.3°C · Low 27.2°C · 26 mm rain
- Koudougou in MayBurkina Faso · 91 kmHigh 37.8°C · Low 26.9°C · 31 mm rain
- Kaya in MayBurkina Faso · 94 kmHigh 39.1°C · Low 27.2°C · 14 mm rain
- Pouytenga in MayBurkina Faso · 121 kmHigh 38.1°C · Low 27.0°C · 24 mm rain
- Ouahigouya in MayBurkina Faso · 165 kmHigh 40.0°C · Low 27.0°C · 14 mm rain
- Bolgatanga in MayGhana · 191 kmHigh 36.4°C · Low 26.2°C · 53 mm rain
- Bawku in MayGhana · 202 kmHigh 36.3°C · Low 26.3°C · 49 mm rain
- Fada N'gourma in MayBurkina Faso · 208 kmHigh 38.1°C · Low 26.9°C · 34 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 Ouagadougou) is explained once on the Ouagadougou year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.
Saaba lies in the same rainfall cell, so its rainfall figures are identical to these; temperatures differ because they come from smaller 0.1° cells.