Climate averages 1991–2020
Addis Ababa weather
in May.
A warm, wet month: the 4th warmest and the 8th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a warm month in Addis Ababa: daytime highs average 22.9°C and nights cool to about 11.5°C. By daytime temperature it is the 4th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 177 mm of rain on roughly 14 days, which makes May a wet month (the 8th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 12 h 32 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Sebeta (19 km away). In May its highs average 23.6°C, 0.7°C warmer than Addis Ababa, with 155 mm of rain.
Among the 40 cities listed in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa ranks 33rd of 40 for the warmest May highs and joint 27th of 40 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 40 cities is 25.5°C; Addis Ababa is 2.7°C cooler than that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 1.5°C to 21.3°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 177 mm to 267 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
Addis Ababa climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22.3°C9.1°C | 9.1°C | 15 | 3.3 | 11.712 h |
| February | 23.5°C10.1°C | 10.1°C | 19 | 4.2 | 11.812 h |
| March | 23.7°C11.3°C | 11.3°C | 65 | 9.9 | 12.112 h |
| April | 23.3°C11.7°C | 11.7°C | 142 | 13.6 | 12.312 h |
| May, selected | 22.9°C11.5°C | 11.5°C | 177 | 13.6 | 12.513 h |
| June | 21.3°C11.0°C | 11.0°C | 267 | 23.5 | 12.613 h |
| July | 19.8°C11.2°C | 11.2°C | 377 | 30.9 | 12.613 h |
| August | 19.8°C11.2°C | 11.2°C | 407 | 31.0 | 12.412 h |
| September | 20.0°C10.3°C | 10.3°C | 275 | 24.9 | 12.212 h |
| October | 20.8°C8.8°C | 8.8°C | 48 | 6.9 | 11.912 h |
| November | 21.6°C8.6°C | 8.6°C | 9.5 | 1.8 | 11.712 h |
| December | 21.7°C8.4°C | 8.4°C | 5.8 | 1.2 | 11.612 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
- Sebeta in MayEthiopia · 19 kmHigh 23.6°C · Low 11.7°C · 155 mm rain
- Bishoftu in MayEthiopia · 40 kmHigh 26.0°C · Low 13.4°C · 64 mm rain
- Nazrēt in MayEthiopia · 78 kmHigh 29.4°C · Low 16.7°C · 29 mm rain
- Mek’ī in MayEthiopia · 98 kmHigh 27.5°C · Low 16.9°C · 66 mm rain
- Hāgere Hiywet in MayEthiopia · 99 kmHigh 24.8°C · Low 14.6°C · 391 mm rain
- Waliso in MayEthiopia · 102 kmHigh 23.6°C · Low 12.9°C · 176 mm rain
- Butajīra in MayEthiopia · 109 kmHigh 24.3°C · Low 14.6°C · 269 mm rain
- Debre Birhan in MayEthiopia · 113 kmHigh 20.8°C · Low 11.1°C · 78 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 Addis Ababa) is explained once on the Addis Ababa year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.