Benguela climate
Benguela (Angola) has a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh). The average temperature over the year is 24 °C76 °F, and about 306 mm12 in of precipitation falls in an average year.
Temperature by month
Precipitation by month
Benguela climate table
| Month | High °C°F | Low °C°F | Mean °C°F | Precip. mmin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2781 | 2476 | 2678 | 391.5 |
| Feb | 2882 | 2577 | 2780 | 431.7 |
| Mar | 2983 | 2678 | 2781 | 662.6 |
| Apr | 2984 | 2678 | 2781 | 502.0 |
| May | 2882 | 2475 | 2679 | 20.1 |
| Jun | 2577 | 2170 | 2373 | 00.0 |
| Jul | 2373 | 2067 | 2170 | 00.0 |
| Aug | 2272 | 1967 | 2169 | 30.1 |
| Sep | 2373 | 2068 | 2171 | 80.3 |
| Oct | 2577 | 2272 | 2475 | 190.7 |
| Nov | 2780 | 2475 | 2578 | 491.9 |
| Dec | 2780 | 2475 | 2577 | 271.1 |
| Year | 2984 | 1967 | 2476 | 30612 |
“Year” row: highest monthly high, lowest monthly low, annual mean and annual total.
| Month | Humid. | Cloud | Solar | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 79% | 77% | 6.2 | 12:47 |
| Feb | 78% | 78% | 6.1 | 12:31 |
| Mar | 79% | 78% | 5.8 | 12:12 |
| Apr | 79% | 65% | 5.7 | 11:50 |
| May | 74% | 49% | 5.3 | 11:32 |
| Jun | 76% | 56% | 4.6 | 11:23 |
| Jul | 80% | 63% | 4.3 | 11:27 |
| Aug | 84% | 64% | 4.6 | 11:42 |
| Sep | 85% | 63% | 5.2 | 12:03 |
| Oct | 81% | 72% | 5.5 | 12:24 |
| Nov | 79% | 75% | 5.9 | 12:43 |
| Dec | 79% | 78% | 6.0 | 12:52 |
Humid. = average relative humidity at 2 m; cloud = average cloud amount; solar = average daily solar energy reaching the ground in kWh/m² (all-sky); daylight in hours:minutes, calculated for the 15th of each month.
What the climate of Benguela is like
The warmest month is March, with an average high of 29 °C83 °F and a low of 26 °C78 °F. The coldest is August, when highs average 22 °C72 °F and lows 19 °C67 °F. Seasonal differences are small — just 6.6 °C11.9 °F between the warmest and the coolest month.
It is dry, with about 306 mm12 in of precipitation per year. The wettest three-month stretch is February–April, which brings 52% of the annual total. Months with less than 20 mm0.8 in on average: May–October. The wettest month is March (66 mm2.6 in), the driest is July (0 mm0.0 in).
Relative humidity ranges from 74% in May to 85% in September. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 49%) are typical of May. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 9 km/h (6 mph) in August to 11 km/h (7 mph) in November. Daylight lasts from about 11.4 hours in June to 12.9 hours in December.
Best time to visit Benguela
Based on these averages, the most comfortable months for sightseeing and outdoor activities are all year: average highs of 22 °C72 °F to 29 °C84 °F with 0 mm0.0 in to 66 mm2.6 in of precipitation per month.
Comfort score: months are ranked by how close they come to an average high of 21–28 °C (70–82 °F), lows above 5 °C (41 °F), little precipitation and moderate humidity. The best-ranked months of each place are recommended, even where none meets all of these. These are general rules of thumb applied to long-term averages.
What to pack for Benguela
- Wetter months (November–April) — highs 2780 to 29 °C84 °F, lows 2475 to 26 °C78 °F, about 46 mm1.8 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses.
- Drier months (May–October) — highs 2272 to 28 °C82 °F, lows 1967 to 24 °C75 °F, about 5 mm0.2 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses.
How Benguela compares
Compared with Huambo, about 254 km to the east, Benguela is on average 5.4 °C9.7 °F warmer and receives 76% less precipitation (306 mm12 in vs 1,275 mm50 in). The difference is largest in May (8.2 °C14.7 °F warmer).
Of the 26 places in Angola covered by World Climates, Benguela is the 10th warmest by annual mean temperature and the 25th wettest by annual precipitation. See all of them on the Angola climate page.
Places in other countries with the most similar temperature and rainfall pattern (seasons shifted for the other hemisphere where needed): Taiz (Yemen, BWh), Mina Salalah (Port of Salalah) (Oman, BWh) and Raysut (Oman, BWh).
The same NASA POWER grid cell also contains Navegantes (pop. 240,075) and Baía Farta (pop. 107,841). Their long-term averages in this dataset are essentially the same as for Benguela, so they do not have separate pages.
Nearby places
- Lobito 28 km · 27 °C81 °F · 579 mm23 in
- Bocoio 81 km · 24 °C75 °F · 1,062 mm42 in
- Balombo 151 km · 22 °C72 °F · 1,296 mm51 in
- Sumbe 160 km · 26 °C79 °F · 363 mm14 in
- Gabela 219 km · 22 °C72 °F · 692 mm27 in
- Huambo 254 km · 19 °C66 °F · 1,275 mm50 in
- Lubango 260 km · 19 °C66 °F · 858 mm34 in
- Catchiungo 306 km · 18 °C65 °F · 1,319 mm52 in
Frequently asked questions
What is the warmest month in Benguela?
March is the warmest month in Benguela, with an average high of 29 °C (83 °F) and an average low of 26 °C (78 °F).
What is the coldest month in Benguela?
August is the coldest month, with an average high of 22 °C (72 °F) and an average low of 19 °C (67 °F).
When does it rain the most in Benguela?
March is the wettest month with about 66 mm (2.6 in) of precipitation; July is the driest with about 0 mm (0.0 in).
What is the best time to visit Benguela?
Judging by long-term averages, the most comfortable months are all year.
About this data
All figures are 25-year averages (January 2001 – December 2025) from the NASA POWER project. Temperature, humidity, wind and precipitation come from the MERRA-2 reanalysis (precipitation is the bias-corrected MERRA-2 product), cloud and solar values from CERES satellite data. They describe a grid cell of roughly 50–70 km, not a single weather station, so they can differ from airport records — most of all on coasts, in mountains and for rainfall. Average highs and lows are the monthly mean temperature plus/minus half of the average daily temperature range. Counts of rainy days are not part of this dataset.