Climate and average weather in Mindelo
In Mindelo, the weather is muggy, warm, fairly dry, and mostly clear and remarkably steady, with daytime highs holding near warm levels all year. The wettest stretch peaks around September.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Mindelo typically varies from 19°C to 25°C, and is rarely below 18°C or above 26°C. September is the hottest month of the year, while February is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, Mindelo has no single best season — it scores well the whole year round, so any month is a good time to visit for warm-weather activities.
- Hottest
- Sep
- 25°
- Coldest
- Feb
- 19°
- Wettest
- Sep
- 38 mm
- Driest
- Jun
- 0 mm
- Rain / yr
- 106 mm
- 17 wet days
- Daylight
- 11.0–13.0 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 44 m
- 16.9°N
- Clearest
- Mar
- 35% cloud
Mindelo is second largest city of Cape Verde.
- Density
- 1,030/km²
- people per km²
- Founded
- 1793
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Mindelo weather by month, at a glance
The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.
Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score holds near its peak the whole year round.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Mindelo, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
Temperatures in Mindelo stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is September, with an average high of 25°C and low of 24°C; the coolest is February, with an average low of 19°C and high of 20°C.
Days typically run about 1°C warmer than nights year-round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 21 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 22 |
| Avg low (°C) | 20 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 21 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21 | 20 |
| Feb | 20 | 19 |
| Mar | 20 | 19 |
| Apr | 21 | 20 |
| May | 21 | 21 |
| Jun | 22 | 21 |
| Jul | 23 | 22 |
| Aug | 24 | 24 |
| Sep | 25 | 24 |
| Oct | 25 | 24 |
| Nov | 24 | 23 |
| Dec | 22 | 21 |
Average hourly temperature in Mindelo
A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on September afternoons, near 25°C, and coldest before dawn in February, near 19°C.
Mindelo weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21° / 20° | 5 | 1.1 | 11.1 | 8.0 |
| Feb | 20° / 19° | 3 | 0.9 | 11.4 | 8.0 |
| Mar | 20° / 19° | 1 | 0.3 | 11.9 | 8.2 |
| Apr | 21° / 20° | 1 | 0.2 | 12.4 | 8.2 |
| May | 21° / 21° | 1 | 0.1 | 12.8 | 8.5 |
| Jun | 22° / 21° | 0 | 0.2 | 13 | 8.6 |
| Jul | 23° / 22° | 4 | 0.9 | 12.9 | 8.5 |
| Aug | 24° / 24° | 19 | 3.6 | 12.6 | 8.2 |
| Sep | 25° / 24° | 38 | 4.9 | 12.1 | 7.9 |
| Oct | 25° / 24° | 20 | 1.8 | 11.6 | 8.4 |
| Nov | 24° / 23° | 7 | 1.1 | 11.2 | 8.4 |
| Dec | 22° / 21° | 6 | 1.4 | 11 | 8.2 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Mindelo gets about 106 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is mostly dry, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 3.1 months, from around Jul 27 to Oct 29, peaking in September at about 19% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around May 15.
September is the wettest month by volume, with 38 mm over about 5 wet days; June is the driest, with 0 mm.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| Rain days | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4 | 1 |
| Feb | 3 | 1 |
| Mar | 1 | 0 |
| Apr | 1 | 0 |
| May | 0 | 0 |
| Jun | 1 | 0 |
| Jul | 3 | 1 |
| Aug | 11 | 4 |
| Sep | 16 | 5 |
| Oct | 6 | 2 |
| Nov | 4 | 1 |
| Dec | 4 | 1 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Mindelo collects about 106 mm of rain across 17 wet days — roughly 9 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. September is the wettest month with 38 mm, while June is the driest at just 0 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 73% of the year’s total.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 19 | 38 | 20 | 7 | 6 |
| Rain days | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5 | 1 |
| Feb | 3 | 1 |
| Mar | 1 | 0 |
| Apr | 1 | 0 |
| May | 1 | 0 |
| Jun | 0 | 0 |
| Jul | 4 | 1 |
| Aug | 19 | 4 |
| Sep | 38 | 5 |
| Oct | 20 | 2 |
| Nov | 7 | 1 |
| Dec | 6 | 1 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Mindelo, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.
The clearer part of the year begins around February 18 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around August 15. The clearest month is June, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 81% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around September 29 and lasts for 4.7 months, ending around February 17. The cloudiest month is November, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 41% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 65 | 71 | 78 | 77 | 81 | 81 | 75 | 71 | 70 | 66 | 59 | 61 |
| Cloudier (%) | 35 | 29 | 22 | 23 | 19 | 19 | 25 | 29 | 30 | 34 | 41 | 39 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 65 | 35 |
| Feb | 71 | 29 |
| Mar | 78 | 22 |
| Apr | 77 | 23 |
| May | 81 | 19 |
| Jun | 81 | 19 |
| Jul | 75 | 25 |
| Aug | 71 | 29 |
| Sep | 70 | 30 |
| Oct | 66 | 34 |
| Nov | 59 | 41 |
| Dec | 61 | 39 |
Daylight, sunrise and sunset
Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.
The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 4, brings about 13 hours of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 11 hours — a swing of roughly 2 hours.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 11.1 | 11.4 | 11.9 | 12.4 | 12.8 | 13.0 | 12.9 | 12.6 | 12.1 | 11.6 | 11.2 | 11.0 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 7:16 | 7:11 | 6:53 | 6:29 | 6:13 | 6:10 | 6:18 | 6:27 | 6:31 | 6:37 | 6:49 | 7:06 |
| Sunset (PM) | 6:22 | 6:38 | 6:46 | 6:52 | 7:00 | 7:10 | 7:13 | 7:01 | 6:37 | 6:13 | 6:01 | 6:06 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11.1 | 7:16 | 6:22 |
| Feb | 11.4 | 7:11 | 6:38 |
| Mar | 11.9 | 6:53 | 6:46 |
| Apr | 12.4 | 6:29 | 6:52 |
| May | 12.8 | 6:13 | 7:00 |
| Jun | 13.0 | 6:10 | 7:10 |
| Jul | 12.9 | 6:18 | 7:13 |
| Aug | 12.6 | 6:27 | 7:01 |
| Sep | 12.1 | 6:31 | 6:37 |
| Oct | 11.6 | 6:37 | 6:13 |
| Nov | 11.2 | 6:49 | 6:01 |
| Dec | 11.0 | 7:06 | 6:06 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Mindelo averages about 16 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 11 and 20 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 5.0 months, from around Jan 29 to Jun 29. The sunniest month is March, with roughly 19 sunny days (bright).
The greyest month is August, down near 11 sunny days — about 41% fewer than the March peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 16 | 16 | 20 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 15 |
| Sky | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16 | Bright |
| Feb | 16 | Bright |
| Mar | 20 | Bright |
| Apr | 17 | Bright |
| May | 19 | Bright |
| Jun | 18 | Bright |
| Jul | 13 | Mixed |
| Aug | 12 | Mixed |
| Sep | 14 | Mixed |
| Oct | 15 | Mixed |
| Nov | 13 | Mixed |
| Dec | 15 | Mixed |
Humidity comfort
Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.
Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.
In Mindelo, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.
The more humid part of the year lasts 7.8 months, from around April 26 to December 19. The muggiest month is June, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 100% of the time.
The most comfortable stretch runs from around December 20 to April 25, and February is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 44% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Comfortable (%) | 36 | 42 | 35 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| Humid (%) | 54 | 49 | 54 | 60 | 56 | 23 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 24 | 55 |
| Muggy (%) | 9 | 6 | 10 | 17 | 39 | 75 | 76 | 40 | 20 | 37 | 58 | 32 |
| Oppressive (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 58 | 78 | 59 | 17 | 1 |
| Miserable (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dry (%) | Comfortable (%) | Humid (%) | Muggy (%) | Oppressive (%) | Miserable (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | 36 | 54 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 2 | 42 | 49 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar | 1 | 35 | 54 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr | 0 | 22 | 60 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 0 | 5 | 56 | 39 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun | 0 | 0 | 23 | 75 | 2 | 0 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 | 7 | 76 | 18 | 0 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 58 | 1 |
| Sep | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 78 | 1 |
| Oct | 0 | 0 | 4 | 37 | 59 | 0 |
| Nov | 0 | 1 | 24 | 58 | 17 | 0 |
| Dec | 0 | 12 | 55 | 32 | 1 | 0 |
Wind
Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.
This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.
Across the year, average wind speed in Mindelo is typically breezy, near 27 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.
The windier part of the year lasts 6.5 months, from around Dec 9 to Jun 25. The windiest month is February, averaging about 30 km/h (windy).
The calmer part of the year runs from around Jun 26 to Dec 8, with August the calmest month at about 22 km/h.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 30 | 30 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 28 | 24 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 28 |
| Feels | windy | windy | windy | windy | windy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | windy |
| Feb | 30 | windy |
| Mar | 29 | windy |
| Apr | 30 | windy |
| May | 30 | windy |
| Jun | 28 | breezy |
| Jul | 24 | breezy |
| Aug | 22 | breezy |
| Sep | 24 | breezy |
| Oct | 25 | breezy |
| Nov | 26 | breezy |
| Dec | 28 | breezy |
Hazard calendar for Mindelo
When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.
Mindelo sits in the Atlantic hurricane belt; the season peaks August–October.
Mindelo sees seasonal dust haze (May–October), heaviest in June.
Best time to visit Mindelo
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Mindelo throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. In Mindelo it holds close to 8.7 all year, so any month is about as good as another for general outdoor tourist activities.
The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel score (0–10) | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.5 | 8.6 | 8.5 | 8.2 | 7.9 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.2 |
| Rating | ideal | ideal | ideal | ideal | ideal | ideal | ideal | ideal | ideal | ideal | ideal | ideal |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8.0 | ideal |
| Feb | 8.0 | ideal |
| Mar | 8.2 | ideal |
| Apr | 8.2 | ideal |
| May | 8.5 | ideal |
| Jun | 8.6 | ideal |
| Jul | 8.5 | ideal |
| Aug | 8.2 | ideal |
| Sep | 7.9 | ideal |
| Oct | 8.4 | ideal |
| Nov | 8.4 | ideal |
| Dec | 8.2 | ideal |
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Mindelo for hot-weather activities is from mid June to early December, with a peak score in the first week of October.
The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
What to pack for Mindelo, by month
Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.
Mindelo packs about the same all year — highs hold near 25°C. Across the year the things worth having are light clothes, sun protection and a windbreaker.
In September, Mindelo sees daytime highs around 25°C and nights near 24°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: light clothes and a windbreaker. About 5 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Mindelo
Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.
The sea offshore is warmest in September at about 27°C and coldest in February near 22°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) | 23 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 24 |
| Comfort | Refreshing | Refreshing | Refreshing | Refreshing | Refreshing | Refreshing | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23 | Refreshing |
| Feb | 22 | Refreshing |
| Mar | 22 | Refreshing |
| Apr | 23 | Refreshing |
| May | 23 | Refreshing |
| Jun | 24 | Refreshing |
| Jul | 25 | Warm |
| Aug | 26 | Warm |
| Sep | 27 | Warm |
| Oct | 27 | Warm |
| Nov | 26 | Warm |
| Dec | 24 | Warm |
UV index (midday) in Mindelo by month
Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Mindelo peaks around May 18 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 6 (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) | 7 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 6 |
| Level | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | Very high | Extreme | Very high | Very high | High |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | Very high |
| Feb | 10 | Extreme |
| Mar | 12 | Extreme |
| Apr | 10 | Very high |
| May | 12 | Extreme |
| Jun | 11 | Extreme |
| Jul | 9 | Very high |
| Aug | 9 | Very high |
| Sep | 11 | Extreme |
| Oct | 10 | Very high |
| Nov | 8 | Very high |
| Dec | 6 | High |
Average hourly UV index in Mindelo
Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.
The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in May the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | 6 | 7 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7 | 6.5 | 5.5 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 3 | 5 | 5.5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5.5 | 5 | 5.5 | 5 | 3.5 | 1 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | 3 |
| Feb | 7 | 5 |
| Mar | 7.5 | 5.5 |
| Apr | 7.5 | 5 |
| May | 8 | 6 |
| Jun | 8 | 6 |
| Jul | 8 | 5.5 |
| Aug | 7.5 | 5 |
| Sep | 7.5 | 5.5 |
| Oct | 7 | 5 |
| Nov | 6.5 | 3.5 |
| Dec | 5.5 | 1 |
Air quality in Mindelo by month
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.
Air quality in Mindelo is worst in December — around 56 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 4.9× the cleanest month (May, 11 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) | 53 | 39 | 23 | 13 | 11 | 23 | 26 | 26 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 56 |
| Level | Poor | Poor | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Unhealthy |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 53 | Poor |
| Feb | 39 | Poor |
| Mar | 23 | Moderate |
| Apr | 13 | Moderate |
| May | 11 | Good |
| Jun | 23 | Moderate |
| Jul | 26 | Moderate |
| Aug | 26 | Moderate |
| Sep | 23 | Moderate |
| Oct | 25 | Moderate |
| Nov | 25 | Moderate |
| Dec | 56 | Unhealthy |
Growing season
Mindelo is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Frost nights | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0 |
| Feb | 100 | 0 |
| Mar | 100 | 0 |
| Apr | 100 | 0 |
| May | 100 | 0 |
| Jun | 100 | 0 |
| Jul | 100 | 0 |
| Aug | 100 | 0 |
| Sep | 100 | 0 |
| Oct | 100 | 0 |
| Nov | 100 | 0 |
| Dec | 100 | 0 |
Growing degree days
Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Mindelo banks about 4,339 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around September.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 318 | 274 | 304 | 306 | 337 | 349 | 393 | 432 | 436 | 439 | 393 | 359 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 318 |
| Feb | 274 |
| Mar | 304 |
| Apr | 306 |
| May | 337 |
| Jun | 349 |
| Jul | 393 |
| Aug | 432 |
| Sep | 436 |
| Oct | 439 |
| Nov | 393 |
| Dec | 359 |
Solar energy
Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.
Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.
Mindelo receives about 6.0 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — intense — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.6 and 7.1 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 7.2 months, from around Feb 26 to Oct 3. The brightest month is May, averaging about 7.1 kWh/m² (intense).
The dimmest month is December, down near 4.6 kWh/m² — roughly 34% less than the May peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 4.8 | 5.6 | 6.5 | 6.8 | 7.1 | 6.9 | 6.5 | 6.3 | 6.1 | 5.8 | 5.1 | 4.6 |
| Level | Bright | Bright | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense | Bright | Bright | Bright |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4.8 | Bright |
| Feb | 5.6 | Bright |
| Mar | 6.5 | Intense |
| Apr | 6.8 | Intense |
| May | 7.1 | Intense |
| Jun | 6.9 | Intense |
| Jul | 6.5 | Intense |
| Aug | 6.3 | Intense |
| Sep | 6.1 | Intense |
| Oct | 5.8 | Bright |
| Nov | 5.1 | Bright |
| Dec | 4.6 | Bright |
Where is Mindelo?
Mindelo sits at 16.9°N, 25.0°W, 44 m above sea level, in Cabo Verde. The nearest listed city is Espargos, 217 km away.
Topography around Mindelo
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Mindelo.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Mindelo has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 273 m around an average of 55 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 704 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,966 m.
The land around Mindelo is covered by bare terrain (47%), water (26%) and artificial surfaces (21%) within 3 km, water (73%) and bare terrain (23%) within 16 km, and water (90%) within 80 km.
Cabo Verde travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 1
- Exercise Normal Precautions
- Power plugs
- Type C / F
- 220 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 48% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $5,796
- 2025
- Homicide rate
- 7
- per 100k, 2020
- Road deaths
- 26.8
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- Upper middle
- World Bank
- 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 Mindelo (16.8901°, -24.9804°, elevation 44 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. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).