Dakar climate
Dakar (Senegal) has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh). The average temperature over the year is 24 °C76 °F, and about 556 mm22 in of precipitation falls in an average year.
Temperature by month
Precipitation by month
Dakar climate table
| Month | High °C°F | Low °C°F | Mean °C°F | Precip. mmin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2475 | 2068 | 2271 | 100.4 |
| Feb | 2272 | 1966 | 2069 | 80.3 |
| Mar | 2271 | 1966 | 2069 | 30.1 |
| Apr | 2170 | 2068 | 2169 | 60.2 |
| May | 2373 | 2271 | 2272 | 30.1 |
| Jun | 2577 | 2476 | 2577 | 130.5 |
| Jul | 2781 | 2679 | 2780 | 793.1 |
| Aug | 2882 | 2780 | 2781 | 1917.5 |
| Sep | 2883 | 2781 | 2882 | 1706.7 |
| Oct | 2984 | 2882 | 2883 | 491.9 |
| Nov | 2882 | 2678 | 2780 | 90.4 |
| Dec | 2679 | 2373 | 2476 | 130.5 |
| Year | 2984 | 1966 | 2476 | 55622 |
“Year” row: highest monthly high, lowest monthly low, annual mean and annual total.
| Month | Humid. | Cloud | Solar | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 70% | 53% | 5.1 | 11:21 |
| Feb | 76% | 59% | 5.7 | 11:39 |
| Mar | 83% | 51% | 6.6 | 12:01 |
| Apr | 88% | 53% | 6.9 | 12:27 |
| May | 88% | 54% | 6.7 | 12:48 |
| Jun | 86% | 66% | 6.2 | 12:59 |
| Jul | 84% | 74% | 5.7 | 12:55 |
| Aug | 84% | 75% | 5.6 | 12:37 |
| Sep | 83% | 68% | 5.5 | 12:12 |
| Oct | 79% | 50% | 5.7 | 11:47 |
| Nov | 73% | 53% | 5.2 | 11:26 |
| Dec | 69% | 55% | 4.9 | 11:16 |
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 Dakar is like
The warmest month is October, with an average high of 29 °C84 °F and a low of 28 °C82 °F. The coldest is March, when highs average 22 °C71 °F and lows 19 °C66 °F. Seasonal differences are small — just 7.8 °C14 °F between the warmest and the coolest month.
Annual precipitation is moderate at about 556 mm22 in. The wettest three-month stretch is July–September, which brings 79% of the annual total. Months with less than 20 mm0.8 in on average: November–June. The wettest month is August (191 mm7.5 in), the driest is May (3 mm0.1 in).
Relative humidity ranges from 69% in December to 88% in May. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 50%) are typical of October. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 12 km/h (8 mph) in September to 19 km/h (12 mph) in February. Daylight lasts from about 11.3 hours in December to 13.0 hours in June.
Best time to visit Dakar
Based on these averages, the most comfortable months for sightseeing and outdoor activities are October–May: average highs of 21 °C70 °F to 29 °C84 °F with 3 mm0.1 in to 49 mm1.9 in of precipitation per month.
The most challenging month is August, which is very wet (191 mm7.5 in) and humid (84% 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.
Dakar weather by month
- January24 °C75 °F / 20 °C68 °F
- February22 °C72 °F / 19 °C66 °F
- March22 °C71 °F / 19 °C66 °F
- April21 °C70 °F / 20 °C68 °F
- May23 °C73 °F / 22 °C71 °F
- June25 °C77 °F / 24 °C76 °F
- July27 °C81 °F / 26 °C79 °F
- August28 °C82 °F / 27 °C80 °F
- September28 °C83 °F / 27 °C81 °F
- October29 °C84 °F / 28 °C82 °F
- November28 °C82 °F / 26 °C78 °F
- December26 °C79 °F / 23 °C73 °F
What to pack for Dakar
- Wetter months (July–October) — highs 2781 to 29 °C84 °F, lows 2679 to 28 °C82 °F, about 122 mm4.8 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses and an umbrella or light rain jacket.
- Drier months (November–June) — highs 2170 to 28 °C82 °F, lows 1966 to 26 °C78 °F, about 8 mm0.3 in of precipitation a month. Pack light layers — T-shirts plus a light sweater or jacket.
How Dakar compares
Of the 12 places in Senegal covered by World Climates, Dakar is the 11th warmest by annual mean temperature and the 7th wettest by annual precipitation. See all of them on the Senegal climate page.
Places in other countries with the most similar temperature and rainfall pattern: Los Cabos (San José del Cabo) (Mexico, BWh), Cabo San Lucas (Mexico, BWh) and Serekunda (Gambia, Aw).
The same NASA POWER grid cell also contains Rufisque (pop. 295,459). Their long-term averages in this dataset are essentially the same as for Dakar, so they do not have separate pages.
Nearby places
- Pikine 10 km · 24 °C76 °F · 514 mm20 in
- Thiès 57 km · 25 °C78 °F · 535 mm21 in
- Mbour 60 km · 26 °C79 °F · 558 mm22 in
- Diourbel 129 km · 28 °C82 °F · 636 mm25 in
- Kaolack 160 km · 27 °C81 °F · 725 mm29 in
- Serekunda 162 km · 25 °C77 °F · 829 mm33 in
- Louga 166 km · 27 °C80 °F · 479 mm19 in
- Touba 170 km · 28 °C83 °F · 553 mm22 in
Frequently asked questions
What is the warmest month in Dakar?
October is the warmest month in Dakar, with an average high of 29 °C (84 °F) and an average low of 28 °C (82 °F).
What is the coldest month in Dakar?
March is the coldest month, with an average high of 22 °C (71 °F) and an average low of 19 °C (66 °F).
When does it rain the most in Dakar?
August is the wettest month with about 191 mm (7.5 in) of precipitation; May is the driest with about 3 mm (0.1 in).
What is the best time to visit Dakar?
Judging by long-term averages, the most comfortable months are October–May.
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.