Bulungu weather in May

In May, Bulungu sees average daytime highs of 31°C and overnight lows near 22°C, with 85 mm of rain across 15.4 wet days and about 11.8 hours of daylight. It is the 7th-warmest and 9th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 31°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 20% of the time in May, and the air most often feels oppressive.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 48 min at the start of May to 11 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Bulungu's 4th-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Bulungu's year-round climate.

Daytime high
31°
7th warmest
Overnight low
22°
9th coldest
Rainfall
85 mm
15.4 wet days
Daylight
11 h 48 min
5:48 AM – 5:36 PM
Cloud cover
67%
4th clearest
Wind
4 km/h
9th windiest
Solar energy
4.91 kWh/m²
Travel score
3.9
out of 10

Bulungu is human settlement.

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

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 31°C through the month.

A typical May day in Bulungu reaches about 31°C in the afternoon and slips back to 22°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 29°C and 33°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs on par with April and on par with June.

20°25°30°35°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
13122
23122
33122
43122
53122
63122
73122
83122
93122
103122
113122
123122
133122
143122
153122
163122
173122
183122
193122
203122
213122
223122
233122
243122
253122
263122
273122
283122
293122
303122
313122

How May really feels in Bulungu

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
31
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

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

Bulungu weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 7th-warmest and 9th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan31° / 22°14222.112.23.2
Feb31° / 22°13718.512.13.2
Mar31° / 22°15622.8123.0
Apr31° / 22°16423.111.93.0
May31° / 22°8515.411.83.9
Jun31° / 21°184.211.74.9
Jul32° / 21°92.611.84.7
Aug32° / 22°4610.511.93.9
Sep31° / 22°11620.6123.2
Oct30° / 22°1922612.13.0
Nov30° / 22°19525.412.23.1
Dec30° / 22°16924.812.33.2

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 20% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 20% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 61%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12476
22476
32575
42674
52674
62872
72872
83070
93169
103367
113565
123664
133862
144060
154060
164258
174258
184456
194456
204654
214654
224753
234753
244951
254852
264852
275050
285050
295050
305050
315149

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Bulungu gets around 85 mm of rain over 15.4 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 49% and peaks near 71% on the wettest days. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%20%40%60%80%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
171
270
369
467
566
664
763
861
959
1057
1155
1253
1351
1449
1547
1646
1744
1843
1942
2041
2140
2240
2339
2439
2538
2638
2737
2837
2936
3035
3134

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 91% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 99% of them.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
1001972
2002962
3002971
4002971
5003961
6003961
7003961
8004951
9004951
10005941
11005941
12006931
13016921
14017920
15017920
16017920
17018910
18018910
19019900
20019900
21019900
220110890
230110890
240110890
250110890
260111880
270111880
280112870
290113860
300214840
311215820

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.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
14calm
24calm
34calm
44calm
54calm
64calm
74calm
84calm
94calm
104calm
114calm
124calm
134calm
144calm
154calm
164calm
174calm
184calm
194calm
204calm
214calm
224calm
234calm
244calm
254calm
264calm
274calm
285calm
295calm
305calm
315calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 48 min at the start of May to 11 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 0 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:47 AM to 5:50 AM, and sunset from 5:38 PM to 5:36 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
111.85:475:38
211.85:475:38
311.85:475:38
411.85:475:37
511.85:475:37
611.85:475:37
711.85:475:37
811.85:475:37
911.85:485:36
1011.85:485:36
1111.85:485:36
1211.85:485:36
1311.85:485:36
1411.85:485:36
1511.85:485:36
1611.85:485:36
1711.85:485:36
1811.85:485:36
1911.85:485:35
2011.85:485:35
2111.85:495:35
2211.85:495:35
2311.85:495:35
2411.85:495:35
2511.85:495:35
2611.85:495:35
2711.85:495:35
2811.85:505:36
2911.85:505:36
3011.85:505:36
3111.85:505:36

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 4.91 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.91 kWh/m² to a high of 5.52 kWh/m² in February across the year — May's 4.91 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

024151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
14.9Bright
24.9Bright
34.9Bright
44.9Bright
54.9Bright
64.9Bright
74.9Bright
84.9Bright
94.9Bright
104.9Bright
114.9Bright
124.9Bright
134.9Bright
144.9Bright
154.9Bright
164.9Bright
175.0Bright
185.0Bright
195.0Bright
205.0Bright
214.9Bright
224.9Bright
234.9Bright
244.9Bright
254.9Bright
264.9Bright
274.9Bright
284.9Bright
294.9Bright
304.9Bright
314.9Bright
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Bulungu?

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

3.9
Sightseeing
3rd-best month of the year
5.8
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Bulungu.

What to pack for Bulungu in May

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

In May, Bulungu sees daytime highs around 31°C and nights near 22°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 15 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

UV index in Bulungu in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 9 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Bulungu peaks around March 16 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near August 14 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 11 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highHighModerateExtremeMar 16UV 14Aug 14UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan13Extreme
Feb13Extreme
Mar14Extreme
Apr13Extreme
May9Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul7High
Aug3Moderate
Sep10Very high
Oct13Extreme
Nov13Extreme
Dec9Very high

Air quality in Bulungu 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 Bulungu is worst in August — around 281 µg/m³ PM2.5 (very unhealthy), about 19.1× the cleanest month (November, 15 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0306090120150180210240270JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateUnhealthyVery unhealthyModerateAug 15258 µg/m³Nov 1615 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan23Moderate
Feb29Moderate
Mar23Moderate
Apr19Moderate
May34Moderate
Jun60Unhealthy
Jul123Unhealthy
Aug281Very unhealthy
Sep54Poor
Oct18Moderate
Nov15Moderate
Dec18Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Bulungu?

Bulungu sits at 4.5°S, 18.6°E, 400 m above sea level, in Democratic Republic of the Congo. The nearest listed city is Kikwit, 60 km away.

IdiofaDibaya-LubweBandundu ProvinceKutu

Topography around Bulungu

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Bulungu has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 139 m around an average of 387 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 245 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 469 m.

The land around Bulungu is covered by shrubs (30%), trees (28%) and grassland (25%) within 3 km, shrubs (49%) and trees (36%) within 16 km, and trees (44%), grassland (29%) and shrubs (26%) within 80 km.

3 km
139 m
16 km
245 m
80 km
469 m
treesshrubsgrasslandartificial surfaceswater
May weather nearby: Kikwit 60 km · Masi-Manimba 83 km · Dungu 106 km · Mangai 118 km · Idiofa 119 km · Dibaya-Lubwe 146 km · Bandundu Province 192 km · Kutu 209 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 Bulungu (-4.5444°, 18.6036°, elevation 400 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).