Basankusu weather in May

In May, Basankusu sees average daytime highs of 30°C and overnight lows near 23°C, with 123 mm of rain across 21.3 wet days and about 12.1 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 30°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in May, and the air most often feels oppressive.

Daylight stretches from about 12 hours at the start of May to 12 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Basankusu's 3rd-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Basankusu's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 30°; 5th warmest
Overnight low: 23°; 10th coldest
Rainfall: 123 mm; 21.3 wet days
Daylight: 12 h 06 min; 5:35 AM – 5:39 PM
Cloud cover: 70%; 3rd clearest
Wind: 4 km/h; 9th windiest
Solar energy: 5.17 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.5; out of 10

Basankusu is city.

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

← April Basankusu 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 30°C through the month.

A typical May day in Basankusu reaches about 30°C in the afternoon and slips back to 23°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 28°C and 32°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs on par with April and on par with 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)	31	31	31	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30
Avg low (°C)	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23

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

How May really feels in Basankusu

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 31 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

The story in May is heat — humidity pushes the afternoon "feels like" well above the raw temperature.

Basankusu weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	31° / 22°	66	11.2	11.9	4.3
Feb	32° / 23°	100	13.8	12	3.6
Mar	31° / 23°	157	20.2	12	3.2
Apr	31° / 23°	153	21.6	12	3.3
May	30° / 23°	123	21.3	12.1	3.5
Jun	30° / 22°	105	19.4	12.1	4.0
Jul	29° / 22°	131	20.8	12.1	4.0
Aug	29° / 22°	185	25.1	12	3.5
Sep	29° / 22°	190	25.2	12	3.3
Oct	29° / 22°	197	26.5	12	3.2
Nov	29° / 22°	167	23.4	11.9	3.5
Dec	30° / 22°	86	15.2	11.9	4.2

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 21% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 65%.

	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 (%)	32	32	33	33	34	34	34	35	36	37	37	36	37	37	36	37	36	36	36	35	35	35	35	35	35	35	34	35	35	35	36
Cloudier (%)	68	68	67	67	66	66	66	65	64	63	63	64	63	63	64	63	64	64	64	65	65	65	65	65	65	65	66	65	65	65	64

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	32	68
2	32	68
3	33	67
4	33	67
5	34	66
6	34	66
7	34	66
8	35	65
9	36	64
10	37	63
11	37	63
12	36	64
13	37	63
14	37	63
15	36	64
16	37	63
17	36	64
18	36	64
19	36	64
20	35	65
21	35	65
22	35	65
23	35	65
24	35	65
25	35	65
26	35	65
27	34	66
28	35	65
29	35	65
30	35	65
31	36	64

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Basankusu gets around 123 mm of rain over 21.3 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 70% and peaks near 71% 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 (%)	71	71	71	70	70	70	70	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	70	70	70	70	70	70	69

	Rain chance (%)
1	71
2	71
3	71
4	70
5	70
6	70
7	70
8	69
9	69
10	69
11	69
12	69
13	69
14	69
15	69
16	69
17	69
18	69
19	69
20	69
21	69
22	69
23	69
24	69
25	70
26	70
27	70
28	70
29	70
30	70
31	69

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 72% 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
Oppressive (%)	73	72	72	71	71	70	70	70	70	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	70	70	71	72	73	74	75	76	77	79	80	81	83
Miserable (%)	27	28	28	29	29	30	30	30	30	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	30	30	29	28	27	26	25	24	23	21	20	19	17

	Oppressive (%)	Miserable (%)
1	73	27
2	72	28
3	72	28
4	71	29
5	71	29
6	70	30
7	70	30
8	70	30
9	70	30
10	69	31
11	69	31
12	69	31
13	69	31
14	69	31
15	69	31
16	69	31
17	69	31
18	69	31
19	70	30
20	70	30
21	71	29
22	72	28
23	73	27
24	74	26
25	75	25
26	76	24
27	77	23
28	79	21
29	80	20
30	81	19
31	83	17

Wind in May

Winds average 4 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 4 km/h on the calmest days to 5 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)	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
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	5	calm
2	5	calm
3	5	calm
4	4	calm
5	4	calm
6	4	calm
7	4	calm
8	4	calm
9	4	calm
10	4	calm
11	4	calm
12	4	calm
13	4	calm
14	4	calm
15	4	calm
16	4	calm
17	4	calm
18	4	calm
19	4	calm
20	4	calm
21	4	calm
22	4	calm
23	4	calm
24	4	calm
25	4	calm
26	4	calm
27	4	calm
28	4	calm
29	4	calm
30	4	calm
31	4	calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 hours at the start of May to 12 h 06 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 5:37 AM to 5:36 AM, and sunset from 5:39 PM to 5:40 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)	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.1
Sunrise (AM)	5:37	5:37	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:35	5:35	5:35	5:35	5:35	5:35	5:35	5:35	5:35	5:35	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36
Sunset (PM)	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:40	5:40	5:40	5:40	5:40

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	12.0	5:37	5:39
2	12.0	5:37	5:39
3	12.0	5:36	5:39
4	12.0	5:36	5:39
5	12.0	5:36	5:39
6	12.0	5:36	5:39
7	12.0	5:36	5:39
8	12.0	5:36	5:39
9	12.0	5:36	5:39
10	12.1	5:36	5:39
11	12.1	5:36	5:39
12	12.1	5:36	5:39
13	12.1	5:35	5:39
14	12.1	5:35	5:39
15	12.1	5:35	5:39
16	12.1	5:35	5:39
17	12.1	5:35	5:39
18	12.1	5:35	5:39
19	12.1	5:35	5:39
20	12.1	5:35	5:39
21	12.1	5:35	5:39
22	12.1	5:35	5:39
23	12.1	5:36	5:39
24	12.1	5:36	5:39
25	12.1	5:36	5:39
26	12.1	5:36	5:39
27	12.1	5:36	5:40
28	12.1	5:36	5:40
29	12.1	5:36	5:40
30	12.1	5:36	5:40
31	12.1	5:36	5:40

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.17 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.79 kWh/m² to a high of 5.72 kWh/m² in March across the year — May's 5.17 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)	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
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	5.3	Bright
2	5.3	Bright
3	5.3	Bright
4	5.3	Bright
5	5.3	Bright
6	5.3	Bright
7	5.3	Bright
8	5.3	Bright
9	5.3	Bright
10	5.3	Bright
11	5.3	Bright
12	5.2	Bright
13	5.2	Bright
14	5.2	Bright
15	5.2	Bright
16	5.2	Bright
17	5.2	Bright
18	5.2	Bright
19	5.1	Bright
20	5.1	Bright
21	5.1	Bright
22	5.1	Bright
23	5.1	Bright
24	5.0	Bright
25	5.0	Bright
26	5.0	Bright
27	5.0	Bright
28	5.0	Bright
29	5.0	Bright
30	5.0	Bright
31	5.0	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Basankusu?

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

3.5

Sightseeing

6th-best month of the year

4.9

Beach & pool

6th-best month of the year

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Basankusu.

What to pack for Basankusu in May

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

In May, Basankusu sees daytime highs around 30°C and nights near 23°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 21 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

UV index in Basankusu in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 10 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Basankusu peaks around April 11 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 23 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)	11	12	13	13	10	8	8	12	12	12	9	9
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	Very high

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	11	Extreme
Feb	12	Extreme
Mar	13	Extreme
Apr	13	Extreme
May	10	Extreme
Jun	8	Very high
Jul	8	Very high
Aug	12	Extreme
Sep	12	Extreme
Oct	12	Extreme
Nov	9	Very high
Dec	9	Very high

Air quality in Basankusu 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 Basankusu is worst in February — around 44 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 4.2× the cleanest month (October, 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)	33	44	32	20	15	22	25	19	11	11	16	26
Level	Moderate	Poor	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Good	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	33	Moderate
Feb	44	Poor
Mar	32	Moderate
Apr	20	Moderate
May	15	Moderate
Jun	22	Moderate
Jul	25	Moderate
Aug	19	Moderate
Sep	11	Good
Oct	11	Good
Nov	16	Moderate
Dec	26	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Basankusu?

Basankusu sits at 1.2°N, 19.8°E, 336 m above sea level, in Democratic Republic of the Congo. The nearest listed city is Binga, 150 km away.

Topography around Basankusu

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Basankusu has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 43 m around an average of 334 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 85 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 146 m.

The land around Basankusu is covered by trees (73%) within 3 km, trees (95%) within 16 km, and trees (97%) within 80 km.

3 km

43 m

trees 73%

16 km

85 m

trees 95%

80 km

146 m

trees 97%

treesshrubsgrasslandartificial surfaceswater

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

May weather nearby: Binga 150 km · Impfondo 199 km · Boende 206 km · Mbandaka 215 km · Lisala 217 km · Bolenge 222 km · Gemena 226 km · Bétou 249 km

Democratic Republic of the Congo travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 4; Do Not Travel
Power plugs: Type C / E; 220 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 42% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $807; 2025
Happiness: 3.8 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 12%; of population, 2024
Road deaths: 34.9; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Low; World Bank
English: Very low; EF EPI 400

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 Basankusu (1.2209°, 19.8021°, elevation 336 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	31	23
2	31	23
3	31	23
4	30	23
5	30	23
6	30	23
7	30	23
8	30	23
9	30	23
10	30	23
11	30	23
12	30	23
13	30	23
14	30	23
15	30	23
16	30	23
17	30	23
18	30	23
19	30	23
20	30	23
21	30	23
22	30	23
23	30	23
24	30	23
25	30	23
26	30	23
27	30	23
28	30	23
29	30	23
30	30	23
31	30	23

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	32	68
2	32	68
3	33	67
4	33	67
5	34	66
6	34	66
7	34	66
8	35	65
9	36	64
10	37	63
11	37	63
12	36	64
13	37	63
14	37	63
15	36	64
16	37	63
17	36	64
18	36	64
19	36	64
20	35	65
21	35	65
22	35	65
23	35	65
24	35	65
25	35	65
26	35	65
27	34	66
28	35	65
29	35	65
30	35	65
31	36	64

	Rain chance (%)
1	71
2	71
3	71
4	70
5	70
6	70
7	70
8	69
9	69
10	69
11	69
12	69
13	69
14	69
15	69
16	69
17	69
18	69
19	69
20	69
21	69
22	69
23	69
24	69
25	70
26	70
27	70
28	70
29	70
30	70
31	69

	Oppressive (%)	Miserable (%)
1	73	27
2	72	28
3	72	28
4	71	29
5	71	29
6	70	30
7	70	30
8	70	30
9	70	30
10	69	31
11	69	31
12	69	31
13	69	31
14	69	31
15	69	31
16	69	31
17	69	31
18	69	31
19	70	30
20	70	30
21	71	29
22	72	28
23	73	27
24	74	26
25	75	25
26	76	24
27	77	23
28	79	21
29	80	20
30	81	19
31	83	17

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	32	68
2	32	68
3	33	67
4	33	67
5	34	66
6	34	66
7	34	66
8	35	65
9	36	64
10	37	63
11	37	63
12	36	64
13	37	63
14	37	63
15	36	64
16	37	63
17	36	64
18	36	64
19	36	64
20	35	65
21	35	65
22	35	65
23	35	65
24	35	65
25	35	65
26	35	65
27	34	66
28	35	65
29	35	65
30	35	65
31	36	64

	Rain chance (%)
1	71
2	71
3	71
4	70
5	70
6	70
7	70
8	69
9	69
10	69
11	69
12	69
13	69
14	69
15	69
16	69
17	69
18	69
19	69
20	69
21	69
22	69
23	69
24	69
25	70
26	70
27	70
28	70
29	70
30	70
31	69

	Oppressive (%)	Miserable (%)
1	73	27
2	72	28
3	72	28
4	71	29
5	71	29
6	70	30
7	70	30
8	70	30
9	70	30
10	69	31
11	69	31
12	69	31
13	69	31
14	69	31
15	69	31
16	69	31
17	69	31
18	69	31
19	70	30
20	70	30
21	71	29
22	72	28
23	73	27
24	74	26
25	75	25
26	76	24
27	77	23
28	79	21
29	80	20
30	81	19
31	83	17

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	32	68
2	32	68
3	33	67
4	33	67
5	34	66
6	34	66
7	34	66
8	35	65
9	36	64
10	37	63
11	37	63
12	36	64
13	37	63
14	37	63
15	36	64
16	37	63
17	36	64
18	36	64
19	36	64
20	35	65
21	35	65
22	35	65
23	35	65
24	35	65
25	35	65
26	35	65
27	34	66
28	35	65
29	35	65
30	35	65
31	36	64

	Rain chance (%)
1	71
2	71
3	71
4	70
5	70
6	70
7	70
8	69
9	69
10	69
11	69
12	69
13	69
14	69
15	69
16	69
17	69
18	69
19	69
20	69
21	69
22	69
23	69
24	69
25	70
26	70
27	70
28	70
29	70
30	70
31	69

	Oppressive (%)	Miserable (%)
1	73	27
2	72	28
3	72	28
4	71	29
5	71	29
6	70	30
7	70	30
8	70	30
9	70	30
10	69	31
11	69	31
12	69	31
13	69	31
14	69	31
15	69	31
16	69	31
17	69	31
18	69	31
19	70	30
20	70	30
21	71	29
22	72	28
23	73	27
24	74	26
25	75	25
26	76	24
27	77	23
28	79	21
29	80	20
30	81	19
31	83	17