Cotonou in Spring
In spring (March, April and May), Cotonou sees average daytime highs around 28°C and overnight lows near 27°C, with 285 mm of rain over about 52 wet days across the season. It is the warmest season of the year and the 2nd-wettest season.
Across spring, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 28°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 18% of the time across spring, and the air most often feels miserable.
Spring is Cotonou's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. Cotonou has little temperature swing across the year, so its calendar seasons blur — the season framing matters less here than for a place with four distinct seasons. For the whole year in context, see Cotonou's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 28°C
- warmest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 27°C
- Rainfall
- 285 mm
- 52 wet days
- Avg wind
- 19 km/h
- Travel score
- 4.7
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Mar · Apr · May
Temperature in Cotonou in Spring
Across spring, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 28°C.
A typical spring day in Cotonou reaches about 28°C and drops to 27°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is April, the coolest May.
How spring really feels in Cotonou
Once humidity and wind are folded in, spring brings about 90 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in spring is heat — humidity pushes the afternoon "feels like" well above the raw temperature.
Cotonou weather by month
How the three spring months (March, April and May) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28° / 26° | 21 | 6.6 | 11.7 | 7.1 |
| Feb | 28° / 27° | 27 | 7.8 | 11.8 | 6.4 |
| Mar | 29° / 27° | 48 | 12.5 | 12 | 5.3 |
| Apr | 29° / 27° | 73 | 15.7 | 12.1 | 4.8 |
| May | 28° / 27° | 164 | 23.4 | 12.3 | 4.0 |
| Jun | 27° / 26° | 259 | 26.1 | 12.4 | 3.9 |
| Jul | 26° / 25° | 132 | 18.9 | 12.3 | 5.2 |
| Aug | 25° / 24° | 73 | 13.3 | 12.2 | 6.1 |
| Sep | 26° / 25° | 105 | 18 | 12 | 5.2 |
| Oct | 27° / 26° | 110 | 20.2 | 11.9 | 5.0 |
| Nov | 28° / 27° | 49 | 13.8 | 11.7 | 5.7 |
| Dec | 28° / 27° | 27 | 7.6 | 11.6 | 6.9 |
Cloud cover in Spring
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 18% of the time across spring.
Chance of precipitation in Spring
Cotonou gets around 285 mm of rain over 52 wet days across spring. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Spring
Most of spring feels miserable — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Spring
Winds average 19 km/h across spring.
Sunrise & sunset in Spring
Daylight runs from about 11 h 54 min in early March to 12 h 18 min by late May. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Spring
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across spring, about 5.3 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Cotonou
In spring, Cotonou overlaps its rainy season and dust season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.
Cotonou's rainy season runs May–July, when most of the year's rain falls.
Cotonou sees seasonal dust haze (January–April), heaviest in February.
Is spring a good time to visit Cotonou?
Our two travel scores rate spring for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
spring is a reasonable time to visit Cotonou for sightseeing.
What to pack for Cotonou in Spring
From spring's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In spring, Cotonou sees daytime highs around 28°C and nights near 27°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection and a windbreaker. About 52 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Cotonou in Spring
The nearest coast averages about 29°C across spring — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.
The sea offshore is warmest in May at about 29°C and coldest in August near 25°C.
The water stays above 20°C all year — warm enough for a swim any month.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 26 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 29 | 28 |
| Comfort | Warm | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Tropical | Tropical |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | Warm |
| Feb | 28 | Tropical |
| Mar | 29 | Tropical |
| Apr | 29 | Tropical |
| May | 29 | Tropical |
| Jun | 28 | Warm |
| Jul | 26 | Warm |
| Aug | 25 | Warm |
| Sep | 26 | Warm |
| Oct | 27 | Warm |
| Nov | 29 | Tropical |
| Dec | 28 | Tropical |
UV index in Cotonou in Spring
Clear-sky midday UV across spring averages around 12 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Cotonou peaks around April 10 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 8 (very high).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 9 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 8 |
| Level | Very high | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | Very high |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | Very high |
| Feb | 10 | Very high |
| Mar | 13 | Extreme |
| Apr | 13 | Extreme |
| May | 11 | Extreme |
| Jun | 11 | Extreme |
| Jul | 10 | Extreme |
| Aug | 10 | Very high |
| Sep | 12 | Extreme |
| Oct | 12 | Extreme |
| Nov | 9 | Very high |
| Dec | 8 | Very high |
Air quality in Cotonou in Spring
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where spring falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in Cotonou is worst in January — around 78 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 7.7× the cleanest month (September, 10 µg/m³).
Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 78 | 61 | 28 | 24 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 19 | 61 |
| Level | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Good | Moderate | Unhealthy |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 78 | Unhealthy |
| Feb | 61 | Unhealthy |
| Mar | 28 | Moderate |
| Apr | 24 | Moderate |
| May | 15 | Moderate |
| Jun | 15 | Moderate |
| Jul | 16 | Moderate |
| Aug | 13 | Moderate |
| Sep | 10 | Good |
| Oct | 12 | Good |
| Nov | 19 | Moderate |
| Dec | 61 | Unhealthy |
Where is Cotonou?
Cotonou sits at 6.4°N, 2.4°E, 7 m above sea level, in Benin. The nearest listed city is Godomè, 8.0 km away.
Topography around Cotonou
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Cotonou.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Cotonou has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 13 m around an average of 5 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 33 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 171 m.
The land around Cotonou is covered by artificial surfaces (76%) within 3 km, water (66%) and artificial surfaces (20%) within 16 km, and trees (37%) and water (36%) within 80 km.
Benin travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 2
- Exercise Increased Caution
- Power plugs
- Type C / E
- 220 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 34% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $1,658
- 2025
- Happiness
- 4.4 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 18%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 1.1
- per 100k, 2017
- Road deaths
- 26.8
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- Lower middle
- World Bank
- English
- Very low
- EF EPI 406
- Religion
Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.
Data sources
Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Cotonou (6.3654°, 2.4183°, elevation 7 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google.