Yaoundé weather in May

In May, Yaoundé sees average daytime highs of 29°C and overnight lows near 21°C, with 172 mm of rain across 25.6 wet days and about 12.2 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 29°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in May, and the air most often feels oppressive.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 06 min at the start of May to 12 h 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Yaoundé's 6th-clearest and 12th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Yaoundé's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 29°; 5th warmest
Overnight low: 21°; 9th coldest
Rainfall: 172 mm; 25.6 wet days
Daylight: 12 h 12 min; 6:05 AM – 6:15 PM
Cloud cover: 79%; 6th clearest
Wind: 6 km/h; 12th windiest
Solar energy: 4.53 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.6; out of 10

Yaoundé is capital of Cameroon.

Density: 7,219/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1888

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← April Yaoundé year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 29°C through the month.

A typical May day in Yaoundé reaches about 29°C in the afternoon and slips back to 21°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 26°C and 30°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs on par with April and about 1°C warmer than June.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28
Avg low (°C)	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	29	21
2	29	21
3	29	21
4	29	21
5	29	21
6	29	21
7	29	21
8	29	21
9	29	21
10	29	21
11	29	21
12	29	21
13	29	21
14	29	21
15	29	21
16	29	21
17	29	21
18	29	21
19	29	21
20	29	21
21	28	21
22	28	21
23	28	21
24	28	21
25	28	21
26	28	21
27	28	21
28	28	21
29	28	21
30	28	21
31	28	21

How May really feels in Yaoundé

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

May sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Yaoundé weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	30° / 20°	40	8.5	11.8	5.3
Feb	31° / 21°	54	10.3	11.9	4.4
Mar	30° / 21°	128	20.2	12	3.6
Apr	29° / 21°	170	23.8	12.1	3.4
May	29° / 21°	172	25.6	12.2	3.6
Jun	27° / 20°	151	24.1	12.2	4.1
Jul	26° / 20°	120	22.3	12.2	4.5
Aug	26° / 20°	121	22.7	12.1	4.4
Sep	27° / 20°	184	26.6	12	3.7
Oct	27° / 20°	244	29.1	11.9	3.5
Nov	28° / 20°	173	22.4	11.8	4.3
Dec	28° / 20°	54	11	11.8	5.5

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 12% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 85%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	16	16	16	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	14	14	13	13	13	13	14	14	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	14	14	14	15
Cloudier (%)	84	84	84	85	85	85	85	85	85	85	86	86	87	87	87	87	86	86	85	85	85	85	85	85	85	85	85	86	86	86	85

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	16	84
2	16	84
3	16	84
4	15	85
5	15	85
6	15	85
7	15	85
8	15	85
9	15	85
10	15	85
11	14	86
12	14	86
13	13	87
14	13	87
15	13	87
16	13	87
17	14	86
18	14	86
19	15	85
20	15	85
21	15	85
22	15	85
23	15	85
24	15	85
25	15	85
26	15	85
27	15	85
28	14	86
29	14	86
30	14	86
31	15	85

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Yaoundé gets around 172 mm of rain over 25.6 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 83% and peaks near 84% on the wettest days.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	82	83	83	83	83	84	84	84	84	84	83	83	83	83	83	83	82	82	82	82	82	82	82	82	82	82	82	82	82	82	82

	Rain chance (%)
1	82
2	83
3	83
4	83
5	83
6	84
7	84
8	84
9	84
10	84
11	83
12	83
13	83
14	83
15	83
16	83
17	82
18	82
19	82
20	82
21	82
22	82
23	82
24	82
25	82
26	82
27	82
28	82
29	82
30	82
31	82

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of May feels oppressive — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, May lands in the oppressive band about 55% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 100% of them.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Muggy (%)	37	37	37	37	37	37	38	38	38	39	39	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	55	56	58	59	61
Oppressive (%)	63	63	63	63	63	63	62	62	62	61	61	61	60	59	58	57	56	55	54	53	52	51	50	49	48	47	45	44	42	41	39

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	37	63
2	37	63
3	37	63
4	37	63
5	37	63
6	37	63
7	38	62
8	38	62
9	38	62
10	39	61
11	39	61
12	39	61
13	40	60
14	41	59
15	42	58
16	43	57
17	44	56
18	45	55
19	46	54
20	47	53
21	48	52
22	49	51
23	50	50
24	51	49
25	52	48
26	53	47
27	55	45
28	56	44
29	58	42
30	59	41
31	61	39

Wind in May

Winds average 6 km/h in May, the calmest month.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 6 km/h on the calmest days to 6 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	6	calm
2	6	calm
3	6	calm
4	6	calm
5	6	calm
6	6	calm
7	6	calm
8	6	calm
9	6	calm
10	6	calm
11	6	calm
12	6	calm
13	6	calm
14	6	calm
15	6	calm
16	6	calm
17	6	calm
18	6	calm
19	6	calm
20	6	calm
21	6	calm
22	6	calm
23	6	calm
24	6	calm
25	6	calm
26	6	calm
27	6	calm
28	6	calm
29	6	calm
30	6	calm
31	6	calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 06 min at the start of May to 12 h 12 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 6 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 6:07 AM to 6:05 AM, and sunset from 6:15 PM to 6:17 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2
Sunrise (AM)	6:07	6:07	6:07	6:06	6:06	6:06	6:06	6:06	6:06	6:06	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:05
Sunset (PM)	6:15	6:15	6:15	6:15	6:15	6:15	6:15	6:15	6:15	6:15	6:15	6:15	6:15	6:15	6:15	6:15	6:16	6:16	6:16	6:16	6:16	6:16	6:16	6:16	6:16	6:17	6:17	6:17	6:17	6:17	6:17

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	12.1	6:07	6:15
2	12.1	6:07	6:15
3	12.1	6:07	6:15
4	12.1	6:06	6:15
5	12.1	6:06	6:15
6	12.1	6:06	6:15
7	12.2	6:06	6:15
8	12.2	6:06	6:15
9	12.2	6:06	6:15
10	12.2	6:06	6:15
11	12.2	6:05	6:15
12	12.2	6:05	6:15
13	12.2	6:05	6:15
14	12.2	6:05	6:15
15	12.2	6:05	6:15
16	12.2	6:05	6:15
17	12.2	6:05	6:16
18	12.2	6:05	6:16
19	12.2	6:05	6:16
20	12.2	6:05	6:16
21	12.2	6:05	6:16
22	12.2	6:05	6:16
23	12.2	6:05	6:16
24	12.2	6:05	6:16
25	12.2	6:05	6:16
26	12.2	6:05	6:17
27	12.2	6:05	6:17
28	12.2	6:05	6:17
29	12.2	6:05	6:17
30	12.2	6:05	6:17
31	12.2	6:05	6:17

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 4.53 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.95 kWh/m² to a high of 5.17 kWh/m² in February across the year — May's 4.53 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.6	4.6	4.6	4.6	4.6	4.6	4.6	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	4.7	Bright
2	4.7	Bright
3	4.7	Bright
4	4.7	Bright
5	4.7	Bright
6	4.7	Bright
7	4.7	Bright
8	4.7	Bright
9	4.6	Bright
10	4.6	Bright
11	4.6	Bright
12	4.6	Bright
13	4.6	Bright
14	4.6	Bright
15	4.6	Bright
16	4.5	Bright
17	4.5	Bright
18	4.5	Bright
19	4.5	Bright
20	4.5	Bright
21	4.5	Bright
22	4.4	Bright
23	4.4	Bright
24	4.4	Bright
25	4.4	Bright
26	4.4	Bright
27	4.3	Bright
28	4.3	Bright
29	4.3	Bright
30	4.3	Bright
31	4.3	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Hazard calendar for Yaoundé

In seasonPeak

None of Yaoundé's seasonal hazards are active in May. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do peak.

Yaoundé sees seasonal dust haze (February–March), heaviest in March.

Dust

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is May a good time to visit Yaoundé?

Our two travel scores rate May for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

3.6

Sightseeing

9th-best month of the year

4.3

Beach & pool

8th-best month of the year

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Yaoundé.

What to pack for Yaoundé in May

From May's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In May, Yaoundé sees daytime highs around 29°C and nights near 21°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 26 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

UV index in Yaoundé in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 13 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Yaoundé peaks around March 22 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 10 (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)	10	12	14	14	13	11	11	12	13	13	11	10
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	10	Extreme
Feb	12	Extreme
Mar	14	Extreme
Apr	14	Extreme
May	13	Extreme
Jun	11	Extreme
Jul	11	Extreme
Aug	12	Extreme
Sep	13	Extreme
Oct	13	Extreme
Nov	11	Extreme
Dec	10	Very high

Air quality in Yaoundé in May

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where May falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Yaoundé is worst in February — around 63 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 5.3× the cleanest month (September, 12 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)	50	63	39	30	21	18	16	14	12	17	24	40
Level	Poor	Unhealthy	Poor	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Poor

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	50	Poor
Feb	63	Unhealthy
Mar	39	Poor
Apr	30	Moderate
May	21	Moderate
Jun	18	Moderate
Jul	16	Moderate
Aug	14	Moderate
Sep	12	Good
Oct	17	Moderate
Nov	24	Moderate
Dec	40	Poor

Location & terrain

Where is Yaoundé?

Yaoundé sits at 3.9°N, 11.5°E, 726 m above sea level, in Cameroon. The nearest listed city is Okoa, 16 km away.

Topography around Yaoundé

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Yaoundé.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Yaoundé has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 113 m around an average of 734 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 594 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,054 m.

The land around Yaoundé is covered by artificial surfaces (88%) within 3 km, trees (57%) and artificial surfaces (29%) within 16 km, and trees (89%) within 80 km.

3 km

113 m

artificial surfaces 88%

16 km

594 m

trees 57%

80 km

1,054 m

trees 89%

treesgrasslandartificial surfaceswater

← April Yaoundé year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

May weather nearby: Okoa 16 km · Obala 33 km · Mbalmayo 39 km · Makak 64 km · Mbandjok 78 km · Akonolinga 82 km · Eséka 87 km · Nkoteng 92 km

Cameroon 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: $1,972; 2025
Happiness: 5.1 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Homicide rate: 6.8; per 100k, 2022
Road deaths: 30.2; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Lower middle; World Bank
English: Very low; EF EPI 445
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 Yaoundé (3.8667°, 11.5167°, elevation 726 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. 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).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	29	21
2	29	21
3	29	21
4	29	21
5	29	21
6	29	21
7	29	21
8	29	21
9	29	21
10	29	21
11	29	21
12	29	21
13	29	21
14	29	21
15	29	21
16	29	21
17	29	21
18	29	21
19	29	21
20	29	21
21	28	21
22	28	21
23	28	21
24	28	21
25	28	21
26	28	21
27	28	21
28	28	21
29	28	21
30	28	21
31	28	21

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	16	84
2	16	84
3	16	84
4	15	85
5	15	85
6	15	85
7	15	85
8	15	85
9	15	85
10	15	85
11	14	86
12	14	86
13	13	87
14	13	87
15	13	87
16	13	87
17	14	86
18	14	86
19	15	85
20	15	85
21	15	85
22	15	85
23	15	85
24	15	85
25	15	85
26	15	85
27	15	85
28	14	86
29	14	86
30	14	86
31	15	85

	Rain chance (%)
1	82
2	83
3	83
4	83
5	83
6	84
7	84
8	84
9	84
10	84
11	83
12	83
13	83
14	83
15	83
16	83
17	82
18	82
19	82
20	82
21	82
22	82
23	82
24	82
25	82
26	82
27	82
28	82
29	82
30	82
31	82

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	37	63
2	37	63
3	37	63
4	37	63
5	37	63
6	37	63
7	38	62
8	38	62
9	38	62
10	39	61
11	39	61
12	39	61
13	40	60
14	41	59
15	42	58
16	43	57
17	44	56
18	45	55
19	46	54
20	47	53
21	48	52
22	49	51
23	50	50
24	51	49
25	52	48
26	53	47
27	55	45
28	56	44
29	58	42
30	59	41
31	61	39

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	29	21
2	29	21
3	29	21
4	29	21
5	29	21
6	29	21
7	29	21
8	29	21
9	29	21
10	29	21
11	29	21
12	29	21
13	29	21
14	29	21
15	29	21
16	29	21
17	29	21
18	29	21
19	29	21
20	29	21
21	28	21
22	28	21
23	28	21
24	28	21
25	28	21
26	28	21
27	28	21
28	28	21
29	28	21
30	28	21
31	28	21

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	16	84
2	16	84
3	16	84
4	15	85
5	15	85
6	15	85
7	15	85
8	15	85
9	15	85
10	15	85
11	14	86
12	14	86
13	13	87
14	13	87
15	13	87
16	13	87
17	14	86
18	14	86
19	15	85
20	15	85
21	15	85
22	15	85
23	15	85
24	15	85
25	15	85
26	15	85
27	15	85
28	14	86
29	14	86
30	14	86
31	15	85

	Rain chance (%)
1	82
2	83
3	83
4	83
5	83
6	84
7	84
8	84
9	84
10	84
11	83
12	83
13	83
14	83
15	83
16	83
17	82
18	82
19	82
20	82
21	82
22	82
23	82
24	82
25	82
26	82
27	82
28	82
29	82
30	82
31	82

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	37	63
2	37	63
3	37	63
4	37	63
5	37	63
6	37	63
7	38	62
8	38	62
9	38	62
10	39	61
11	39	61
12	39	61
13	40	60
14	41	59
15	42	58
16	43	57
17	44	56
18	45	55
19	46	54
20	47	53
21	48	52
22	49	51
23	50	50
24	51	49
25	52	48
26	53	47
27	55	45
28	56	44
29	58	42
30	59	41
31	61	39

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	29	21
2	29	21
3	29	21
4	29	21
5	29	21
6	29	21
7	29	21
8	29	21
9	29	21
10	29	21
11	29	21
12	29	21
13	29	21
14	29	21
15	29	21
16	29	21
17	29	21
18	29	21
19	29	21
20	29	21
21	28	21
22	28	21
23	28	21
24	28	21
25	28	21
26	28	21
27	28	21
28	28	21
29	28	21
30	28	21
31	28	21

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	16	84
2	16	84
3	16	84
4	15	85
5	15	85
6	15	85
7	15	85
8	15	85
9	15	85
10	15	85
11	14	86
12	14	86
13	13	87
14	13	87
15	13	87
16	13	87
17	14	86
18	14	86
19	15	85
20	15	85
21	15	85
22	15	85
23	15	85
24	15	85
25	15	85
26	15	85
27	15	85
28	14	86
29	14	86
30	14	86
31	15	85

	Rain chance (%)
1	82
2	83
3	83
4	83
5	83
6	84
7	84
8	84
9	84
10	84
11	83
12	83
13	83
14	83
15	83
16	83
17	82
18	82
19	82
20	82
21	82
22	82
23	82
24	82
25	82
26	82
27	82
28	82
29	82
30	82
31	82

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	37	63
2	37	63
3	37	63
4	37	63
5	37	63
6	37	63
7	38	62
8	38	62
9	38	62
10	39	61
11	39	61
12	39	61
13	40	60
14	41	59
15	42	58
16	43	57
17	44	56
18	45	55
19	46	54
20	47	53
21	48	52
22	49	51
23	50	50
24	51	49
25	52	48
26	53	47
27	55	45
28	56	44
29	58	42
30	59	41
31	61	39