Climate averages 1991–2020
Timbuktu weather
by month.
See how the year changes. June has the highest average daily maximum; December (tied with February) has the lowest average monthly rainfall.
Pleasant-weather months by our simple rule: January
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
Across the year Timbuktu averages a daytime high of 35.8°C and a nighttime low of 22.2°C, with about 100 mm of rain on roughly 22 days. June is the warmest month (average high 41.2°C) and January the coolest (27.7°C). August is the wettest month with 47 mm; December (tied with February) is the driest with under 1 mm.
Months with pleasant weather by a simple rule (average high between 18°C and 29°C, average low of at least 5°C and at most 8 rain days): January. This looks at temperature and rain only, not humidity, wind, sea temperature or crowds.
The annual picture
A year in Timbuktu
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
Timbuktu climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27.7°C13.7°C | 13.7°C | 0.9 | 0.1 | 11.211 h |
| February | 31.1°C15.9°C | 15.9°C | 0.1 | 0.0 | 11.612 h |
| March | 35.1°C19.3°C | 19.3°C | 0.2 | 0.1 | 12.012 h |
| April | 39.0°C23.3°C | 23.3°C | 0.2 | 0.1 | 12.513 h |
| May | 40.9°C26.7°C | 26.7°C | 1.8 | 0.6 | 12.913 h |
| June | 41.2°C28.4°C | 28.4°C | 5.2 | 2.2 | 13.113 h |
| July | 38.5°C27.6°C | 27.6°C | 25 | 5.5 | 13.013 h |
| August | 36.5°C26.3°C | 26.3°C | 47 | 8.7 | 12.713 h |
| September | 38.4°C26.5°C | 26.5°C | 16 | 3.7 | 12.212 h |
| October | 38.0°C24.3°C | 24.3°C | 3.3 | 0.9 | 11.812 h |
| November | 33.7°C19.1°C | 19.1°C | 0.3 | 0.0 | 11.411 h |
| December | 29.3°C15.1°C | 15.1°C | 0.1 | 0.0 | 11.111 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
Nearby cities
- MoptiMali · 284 kmHigh 36.2°C · Low 23.4°C · 333 mm rain a year
- GaoMali · 321 kmHigh 37.2°C · Low 22.6°C · 117 mm rain a year
- OuahigouyaBurkina Faso · 361 kmHigh 35.3°C · Low 22.3°C · 437 mm rain a year
- SanMali · 437 kmHigh 35.3°C · Low 23.0°C · 526 mm rain a year
- KayaBurkina Faso · 459 kmHigh 34.9°C · Low 22.3°C · 415 mm rain a year
- KoudougouBurkina Faso · 507 kmHigh 34.6°C · Low 23.1°C · 603 mm rain a year
- SégouMali · 509 kmHigh 34.7°C · Low 22.9°C · 506 mm rain a year
- OuagadougouBurkina Faso · 515 kmHigh 34.8°C · Low 22.7°C · 556 mm rain a year
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 limitsWhat do the high and low temperatures mean?
We average the daily maximum and daily minimum for each calendar month over 1991–2020. They are not record extremes, a forecast range or temperatures at a fixed time of day.
How is a rain day counted?
A local calendar day (standard time, UTC±0, no daylight saving) with at least 1 mm of total precipitation counts as one rain day. We count these for each year and month, then average across 30 years. The average does not predict which days will be wet.
Where do the numbers come from?
ERA5-Land (temperature) and ERA5 (precipitation) reanalysis from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, read from the Open-Meteo open-data archive. Temperature comes from the 0.1° model cell at 16.80°, -3.00° (3 km from the city centre), adjusted down by 0.1°C for the difference between the city's elevation (274 m) and the cell's (266 m). Rain comes from the 0.25° cell at 16.75°, -3.00°. These are model estimates, not weather-station readings; coast, hills and city streets can differ.
Does this page show sunshine, humidity or sea temperature?
No. The data used here contain air temperature and precipitation only. Daylight hours are calculated from the city's latitude (sunrise to sunset), not measured sunshine.