Benin City climate
Benin City (Nigeria) has a tropical savanna (dry winter) climate (Köppen Aw). The average temperature over the year is 25 °C78 °F, and about 1,726 mm68 in of precipitation falls in an average year.
Temperature by month
Precipitation by month
Benin City climate table
| Month | High °C°F | Low °C°F | Mean °C°F | Precip. mmin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3085 | 2067 | 2576 | 140.5 |
| Feb | 3086 | 2272 | 2679 | 341.4 |
| Mar | 3086 | 2374 | 2780 | 722.8 |
| Apr | 2985 | 2475 | 2780 | 1395.5 |
| May | 2984 | 2374 | 2679 | 1686.6 |
| Jun | 2882 | 2373 | 2578 | 2369.3 |
| Jul | 2781 | 2271 | 2576 | 2389.4 |
| Aug | 2882 | 2171 | 2476 | 2258.8 |
| Sep | 2882 | 2272 | 2577 | 30112 |
| Oct | 2883 | 2373 | 2578 | 2088.2 |
| Nov | 2985 | 2272 | 2679 | 732.9 |
| Dec | 3085 | 2069 | 2577 | 190.7 |
| Year | 3086 | 2067 | 2578 | 1,72668 |
“Year” row: highest monthly high, lowest monthly low, annual mean and annual total.
| Month | Humid. | Cloud | Solar | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 75% | 43% | 4.9 | 11:47 |
| Feb | 83% | 61% | 4.6 | 11:55 |
| Mar | 88% | 76% | 4.7 | 12:04 |
| Apr | 90% | 80% | 4.8 | 12:15 |
| May | 91% | 78% | 4.7 | 12:24 |
| Jun | 92% | 79% | 4.2 | 12:29 |
| Jul | 91% | 86% | 3.7 | 12:27 |
| Aug | 91% | 85% | 3.7 | 12:19 |
| Sep | 92% | 86% | 3.9 | 12:09 |
| Oct | 91% | 77% | 4.4 | 11:58 |
| Nov | 87% | 57% | 4.9 | 11:49 |
| Dec | 79% | 41% | 4.9 | 11:45 |
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 Benin City is like
The warmest month is March, with an average high of 30 °C86 °F and a low of 23 °C74 °F. The coldest is August, when highs average 28 °C82 °F and lows 21 °C71 °F. Temperatures barely change through the year: the warmest and the coolest month differ by only 2.2 °C3.9 °F.
It is wet, with about 1,726 mm68 in of precipitation per year. The wettest three-month stretch is July–September, which brings 44% of the annual total. Months with less than 20 mm0.8 in on average: December and January. The wettest month is September (301 mm12 in), the driest is January (14 mm0.5 in).
Relative humidity ranges from 75% in January to 92% in September. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 41%) are typical of December. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 2 km/h (1 mph) in November to 4 km/h (2 mph) in August.
Best time to visit Benin City
Based on these averages, the most comfortable months for sightseeing and outdoor activities are December and January: average highs of 30 °C85 °F to 30 °C85 °F with 14 mm0.5 in to 19 mm0.7 in of precipitation per month.
The most challenging month is September, which is very wet (301 mm12 in) and humid (92% relative humidity).
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.
Benin City weather by month
- January30 °C85 °F / 20 °C67 °F
- February30 °C86 °F / 22 °C72 °F
- March30 °C86 °F / 23 °C74 °F
- April29 °C85 °F / 24 °C75 °F
- May29 °C84 °F / 23 °C74 °F
- June28 °C82 °F / 23 °C73 °F
- July27 °C81 °F / 22 °C71 °F
- August28 °C82 °F / 21 °C71 °F
- September28 °C82 °F / 22 °C72 °F
- October28 °C83 °F / 23 °C73 °F
- November29 °C85 °F / 22 °C72 °F
- December30 °C85 °F / 20 °C69 °F
What to pack for Benin City
- Wetter months (May–October) — highs 2781 to 29 °C84 °F, lows 2171 to 23 °C74 °F, about 229 mm9.0 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses and a good rain jacket or umbrella and quick-drying shoes.
- Drier months (November–April) — highs 2985 to 30 °C86 °F, lows 2067 to 24 °C75 °F, about 58 mm2.3 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses.
How Benin City compares
Compared with Ibadan, about 222 km to the northwest, Benin City has practically the same average temperature and receives a similar amount of precipitation.
Of the 74 places in Nigeria covered by World Climates, Benin City is the 48th warmest by annual mean temperature and the 14th wettest by annual precipitation. See all of them on the Nigeria climate page.
Places in other countries with the most similar temperature and rainfall pattern (seasons shifted for the other hemisphere where needed): Man (Ivory Coast, Aw), Duekoué (Ivory Coast, Aw) and Rio Branco (Brazil, Aw).
Nearby places
- Sapele 50 km · 26 °C79 °F · 1,810 mm71 in
- Uromi 88 km · 24 °C75 °F · 1,595 mm63 in
- Warri 92 km · 26 °C79 °F · 1,861 mm73 in
- Owo 96 km · 24 °C76 °F · 1,570 mm62 in
- Akure 112 km · 25 °C77 °F · 1,549 mm61 in
- Ondo 121 km · 25 °C76 °F · 1,735 mm68 in
- Onitsha 130 km · 26 °C79 °F · 1,705 mm67 in
- Ikare 133 km · 25 °C76 °F · 1,360 mm54 in
Frequently asked questions
What is the warmest month in Benin City?
March is the warmest month in Benin City, with an average high of 30 °C (86 °F) and an average low of 23 °C (74 °F).
What is the coldest month in Benin City?
August is the coldest month, with an average high of 28 °C (82 °F) and an average low of 21 °C (71 °F).
When does it rain the most in Benin City?
September is the wettest month with about 301 mm (11.9 in) of precipitation; January is the driest with about 14 mm (0.5 in).
What is the best time to visit Benin City?
Judging by long-term averages, the most comfortable months are December and January.
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.