Climate averages 1991–2020

Timbuktu weather
in January.

A warm, very dry month: the coolest and the 6th driest of the year. Meets the pleasant-weather rule

Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.

Average high 27.7°C Daytime mean, January

Average low 13.7°C Night-time mean, January

Rainfall <1 mm Almost no rain

Daylight 11 h Sunrise to sunset, per day

January is a warm month in Timbuktu: daytime highs average 27.7°C and nights cool to about 13.7°C. By daytime temperature it is the coolest month of the year.

Rain is very rare: less than 1 mm falls in a typical January (the 6th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 11 h 15 min on an average January day.

The nearest other city in this atlas is Mopti (284 km away). In January its highs average 31.8°C, 4.1°C warmer than Timbuktu, with almost no rain (under 1 mm).

Among the 13 cities listed in Mali, Timbuktu ranks 13th of 13 for the warmest January highs and joint 4th of 13 for the driest January (rainfall, lowest first). The mean January high of those 13 cities is 32.0°C; Timbuktu is 4.3°C cooler than that mean.

From January to February, average highs rise by 3.3°C to 31.1°C, and monthly rainfall stays under 1 mm.

The annual picture

January in context

30-year average

Average highAverage low°C

Monthly rainfall

Average total · mm

Averages 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

1991–2020

Monthly climate averages for Timbuktu, 1991–2020
Month	Average highHigh / low	Average low	Rainfall mm/month	Rain days ≥1 mm/day	Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day
January, selected	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

January in nearby cities

Distance from Timbuktu

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 limits

How these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Timbuktu) is explained once on the Timbuktu year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.