Climate averages 1991–2020
Gao weather
in May.
A very hot, very dry month: the 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 Gao: daytime highs average 42.2°C and nights cool to about 27.4°C. By daytime temperature it is the warmest month of the year.
Expect about 2.3 mm of rain on fewer than one day, which makes May a very dry month (the 7th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 12 h 53 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Timbuktu (321 km away). In May its highs average 40.9°C, 1.3°C cooler than Gao, with 1.8 mm of rain.
Among the 13 cities listed in Mali, Gao ranks 1st of 13 for the warmest May highs and 2nd of 13 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 13 cities is 39.0°C; Gao is 3.2°C warmer than that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 0.5°C to 41.7°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 2.3 mm to 7.6 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
Gao climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30.0°C14.4°C | 14.4°C | 0.3 | 0.1 | 11.311 h |
| February | 33.3°C16.7°C | 16.7°C | 0.1 | 0.0 | 11.612 h |
| March | 37.2°C20.0°C | 20.0°C | 0.1 | 0.0 | 12.012 h |
| April | 40.8°C24.1°C | 24.1°C | 0.6 | 0.2 | 12.512 h |
| May, selected | 42.2°C27.4°C | 27.4°C | 2.3 | 0.8 | 12.913 h |
| June | 41.7°C28.7°C | 28.7°C | 7.6 | 2.8 | 13.113 h |
| July | 39.0°C27.2°C | 27.2°C | 31 | 7.9 | 13.013 h |
| August | 37.0°C26.0°C | 26.0°C | 56 | 11.2 | 12.713 h |
| September | 39.2°C26.7°C | 26.7°C | 16 | 4.3 | 12.212 h |
| October | 39.2°C24.9°C | 24.9°C | 2.6 | 0.8 | 11.812 h |
| November | 35.7°C19.8°C | 19.8°C | 0.1 | 0.0 | 11.411 h |
| December | 31.7°C15.9°C | 15.9°C | 0.1 | 0.0 | 11.211 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
- Timbuktu in MayMali · 321 kmHigh 40.9°C · Low 26.7°C · 1.8 mm rain
- Kaya in MayBurkina Faso · 371 kmHigh 39.1°C · Low 27.2°C · 14 mm rain
- Niamey in MayNiger · 384 kmHigh 40.5°C · Low 27.9°C · 8.3 mm rain
- Ouahigouya in MayBurkina Faso · 393 kmHigh 40.0°C · Low 27.0°C · 14 mm rain
- Pouytenga in MayBurkina Faso · 449 kmHigh 38.1°C · Low 27.0°C · 24 mm rain
- Saaba in MayBurkina Faso · 458 kmHigh 38.3°C · Low 27.2°C · 26 mm rain
- Ouagadougou in MayBurkina Faso · 463 kmHigh 38.4°C · Low 27.2°C · 26 mm rain
- Fada N'gourma in MayBurkina Faso · 470 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 Gao) is explained once on the Gao year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.