Climate averages 1991–2020
Kigali weather
in January.
A warm, moderately wet month: the 6th warmest and the 5th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
January is a warm month in Kigali: daytime highs average 25.0°C and nights cool to about 14.5°C. By daytime temperature it is the 6th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 77 mm of rain on roughly 15 days, which makes January a moderately wet month (the 5th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 12 h 13 min on an average January day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Gitarama (36 km away). In January its highs average 23.2°C, 1.8°C cooler than Kigali, with 134 mm of rain.
Among the 5 cities listed in Rwanda, Kigali ranks 2nd of 5 for the warmest January highs and 2nd of 5 for the driest January (rainfall, lowest first). The mean January high of those 5 cities is 24.2°C; Kigali is 0.8°C warmer than that mean.
From January to February, average highs rise by 0.6°C to 25.7°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 77 mm to 79 mm.
The annual picture
January 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
Kigali climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January, selected | 25.0°C14.5°C | 14.5°C | 77 | 15.4 | 12.212 h |
| February | 25.7°C14.8°C | 14.8°C | 79 | 14.7 | 12.212 h |
| March | 25.1°C14.7°C | 14.7°C | 105 | 21.0 | 12.112 h |
| April | 24.0°C15.0°C | 15.0°C | 137 | 24.0 | 12.112 h |
| May | 23.9°C14.9°C | 14.9°C | 83 | 15.9 | 12.012 h |
| June | 24.2°C14.9°C | 14.9°C | 14 | 2.7 | 12.012 h |
| July | 25.2°C15.1°C | 15.1°C | 4.4 | 0.8 | 12.012 h |
| August | 25.9°C15.4°C | 15.4°C | 24 | 4.0 | 12.112 h |
| September | 25.7°C15.0°C | 15.0°C | 54 | 10.3 | 12.112 h |
| October | 24.9°C14.7°C | 14.7°C | 117 | 18.6 | 12.212 h |
| November | 24.2°C14.1°C | 14.1°C | 130 | 22.5 | 12.212 h |
| December | 24.4°C14.1°C | 14.1°C | 92 | 18.2 | 12.212 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
- Gitarama in JanuaryRwanda · 36 kmHigh 23.2°C · Low 12.4°C · 134 mm rain
- Muhanga in JanuaryRwanda · 40 kmHigh 23.2°C · Low 12.7°C · 134 mm rain
- Musanze in JanuaryRwanda · 69 kmHigh 22.9°C · Low 15.3°C · 186 mm rain
- Nyagatare in JanuaryRwanda · 78 kmHigh 26.8°C · Low 16.0°C · 49 mm rain
- Rutshuru in JanuaryDemocratic Republic of the Congo · 109 kmHigh 25.9°C · Low 15.3°C · 121 mm rain
- Bukavu in JanuaryDemocratic Republic of the Congo · 148 kmHigh 24.2°C · Low 16.1°C · 302 mm rain
- Rutoma in JanuaryUganda · 158 kmHigh 25.4°C · Low 16.2°C · 80 mm rain
- Mbarara in JanuaryUganda · 163 kmHigh 26.3°C · Low 16.3°C · 35 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 Kigali) is explained once on the Kigali year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.