Climate and average weather in Kikwit
In Kikwit, the weather is hot, wet, and mostly clear and remarkably steady, with daytime highs holding near hot levels all year. The wettest stretch peaks around November.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Kikwit typically varies from 21°C to 32°C, and is rarely below 19°C or above 34°C. July is the hottest month of the year, while November is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Kikwit for warm-weather activities is from mid May to mid August.
- Hottest
- Jul
- 32°
- Coldest
- Nov
- 21°
- Wettest
- Nov
- 179 mm
- Driest
- Jul
- 7 mm
- Rain / yr
- 1270 mm
- 204 wet days
- Daylight
- 11.7–12.3 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 466 m
- 5.0°S
- Clearest
- Jul
- 47% cloud
Kikwit is city in Congo-Kinshasa.
- Density
- 5,537/km²
- people per km²
- Founded
- 1970
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Kikwit 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 climbs highest around mid May to mid August.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Kikwit, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
Temperatures in Kikwit stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is July, with an average high of 32°C and low of 21°C; the coolest is November, with an average low of 21°C and high of 30°C.
Days typically run about 9°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 11°C) in July.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 30 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 32 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Avg low (°C) | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 21 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 22 |
| Feb | 31 | 22 |
| Mar | 31 | 22 |
| Apr | 31 | 22 |
| May | 31 | 22 |
| Jun | 31 | 21 |
| Jul | 32 | 21 |
| Aug | 32 | 22 |
| Sep | 31 | 22 |
| Oct | 30 | 21 |
| Nov | 30 | 21 |
| Dec | 30 | 21 |
How hot and cold Kikwit really feels
The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.
On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Kikwit feels like about 35°C (around March 9). Nearly every day a year carries some heat stress, peaking in March.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | 34 | 35 | 35 | 34 | 34 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 34 | 34 | 33 | 33 |
| Air high (°C) | 30 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 32 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 21 |
| Air low (°C) | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 21 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 30 | 22 | 22 |
| Feb | 35 | 31 | 22 | 22 |
| Mar | 35 | 31 | 22 | 22 |
| Apr | 34 | 31 | 22 | 22 |
| May | 34 | 31 | 22 | 22 |
| Jun | 33 | 31 | 21 | 21 |
| Jul | 33 | 32 | 21 | 21 |
| Aug | 33 | 32 | 22 | 22 |
| Sep | 34 | 31 | 22 | 22 |
| Oct | 34 | 30 | 21 | 21 |
| Nov | 33 | 30 | 21 | 21 |
| Dec | 33 | 30 | 21 | 21 |
Average hourly temperature in Kikwit
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 July afternoons, near 32°C, and coldest before dawn in November, near 21°C.
Kikwit 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 | 30° / 22° | 116 | 19.3 | 12.3 | 3.6 |
| Feb | 31° / 22° | 111 | 16.6 | 12.2 | 3.5 |
| Mar | 31° / 22° | 133 | 20.5 | 12 | 3.3 |
| Apr | 31° / 22° | 166 | 23.5 | 11.9 | 3.1 |
| May | 31° / 22° | 83 | 15.6 | 11.8 | 4.0 |
| Jun | 31° / 21° | 13 | 3.5 | 11.7 | 5.0 |
| Jul | 32° / 21° | 7 | 2.3 | 11.7 | 4.8 |
| Aug | 32° / 22° | 41 | 10 | 11.8 | 4.1 |
| Sep | 31° / 22° | 106 | 18.9 | 12 | 3.5 |
| Oct | 30° / 21° | 167 | 25.5 | 12.1 | 3.2 |
| Nov | 30° / 21° | 179 | 24.9 | 12.2 | 3.2 |
| Dec | 30° / 21° | 148 | 23.4 | 12.3 | 3.4 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Kikwit gets about 1270 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is very wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 8.0 months, from around Sep 9 to May 11, peaking in November at about 86% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jul 4.
November is the wettest month by volume, with 179 mm over about 25 wet days; July is the driest, with 7 mm.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 63 | 59 | 66 | 77 | 50 | 13 | 8 | 32 | 63 | 81 | 83 | 75 |
| Rain days | 19 | 17 | 21 | 24 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 19 | 26 | 25 | 23 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 63 | 19 |
| Feb | 59 | 17 |
| Mar | 66 | 21 |
| Apr | 77 | 24 |
| May | 50 | 16 |
| Jun | 13 | 4 |
| Jul | 8 | 2 |
| Aug | 32 | 10 |
| Sep | 63 | 19 |
| Oct | 81 | 26 |
| Nov | 83 | 25 |
| Dec | 75 | 23 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Kikwit collects about 1270 mm of rain across 204 wet days — roughly 106 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. November is the wettest month with 179 mm, while July is the driest at just 7 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 40% of the year’s total.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 116 | 111 | 133 | 166 | 83 | 13 | 7 | 41 | 106 | 167 | 179 | 148 |
| Rain days | 19 | 17 | 21 | 24 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 19 | 26 | 25 | 23 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 116 | 19 |
| Feb | 111 | 17 |
| Mar | 133 | 21 |
| Apr | 166 | 24 |
| May | 83 | 16 |
| Jun | 13 | 4 |
| Jul | 7 | 2 |
| Aug | 41 | 10 |
| Sep | 106 | 19 |
| Oct | 167 | 26 |
| Nov | 179 | 25 |
| Dec | 148 | 23 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Kikwit, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.
The clearer part of the year begins around May 8 and lasts for 4.7 months, ending around September 28. The clearest month is June, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 66% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around September 29 and lasts for 7.3 months, ending around May 7. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 85% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 17 | 15 | 16 | 20 | 42 | 66 | 66 | 54 | 40 | 27 | 19 | 15 |
| Cloudier (%) | 83 | 85 | 84 | 80 | 58 | 34 | 34 | 46 | 60 | 73 | 81 | 85 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17 | 83 |
| Feb | 15 | 85 |
| Mar | 16 | 84 |
| Apr | 20 | 80 |
| May | 42 | 58 |
| Jun | 66 | 34 |
| Jul | 66 | 34 |
| Aug | 54 | 46 |
| Sep | 40 | 60 |
| Oct | 27 | 73 |
| Nov | 19 | 81 |
| Dec | 15 | 85 |
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. Close to the equator, Kikwit barely changes through the year: days stay near 12 h 18 min of light in every season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 12.3 | 12.2 | 12.0 | 11.9 | 11.8 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 11.8 | 12.0 | 12.1 | 12.2 | 12.3 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 5:46 | 5:54 | 5:53 | 5:48 | 5:48 | 5:54 | 5:58 | 5:54 | 5:40 | 5:26 | 5:23 | 5:32 |
| Sunset (PM) | 6:02 | 6:04 | 5:55 | 5:42 | 5:34 | 5:36 | 5:42 | 5:44 | 5:38 | 5:33 | 5:37 | 5:50 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12.3 | 5:46 | 6:02 |
| Feb | 12.2 | 5:54 | 6:04 |
| Mar | 12.0 | 5:53 | 5:55 |
| Apr | 11.9 | 5:48 | 5:42 |
| May | 11.8 | 5:48 | 5:34 |
| Jun | 11.7 | 5:54 | 5:36 |
| Jul | 11.7 | 5:58 | 5:42 |
| Aug | 11.8 | 5:54 | 5:44 |
| Sep | 12.0 | 5:40 | 5:38 |
| Oct | 12.1 | 5:26 | 5:33 |
| Nov | 12.2 | 5:23 | 5:37 |
| Dec | 12.3 | 5:32 | 5:50 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Kikwit averages about 5 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 1 and 16 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 4.2 months, from around May 9 to Sep 14. The sunniest month is June, with roughly 14 sunny days (mixed).
The greyest month is December, down near 1 sunny days — about 93% fewer than the June peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Sky | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | Gloomy |
| Feb | 1 | Gloomy |
| Mar | 1 | Gloomy |
| Apr | 2 | Gloomy |
| May | 7 | Gloomy |
| Jun | 14 | Mixed |
| Jul | 14 | Mixed |
| Aug | 9 | Mixed |
| Sep | 5 | Gloomy |
| Oct | 2 | Gloomy |
| Nov | 1 | Gloomy |
| Dec | 1 | Gloomy |
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 Kikwit, how humid it feels changes noticeably over the year.
The more humid part of the year lasts 9.4 months, from around August 20 to June 2. The muggiest month is January, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 100% of the time.
The most comfortable stretch runs from around June 3 to August 19, and July is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 19% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Comfortable (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Humid (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 34 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Muggy (%) | 9 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 41 | 46 | 65 | 36 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
| Oppressive (%) | 90 | 92 | 96 | 98 | 87 | 32 | 1 | 13 | 62 | 93 | 95 | 95 |
| Miserable (%) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dry (%) | Comfortable (%) | Humid (%) | Muggy (%) | Oppressive (%) | Miserable (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 90 | 0 |
| Feb | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 92 | 0 |
| Mar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 96 | 1 |
| Apr | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 98 | 1 |
| May | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 87 | 0 |
| Jun | 2 | 7 | 19 | 41 | 32 | 0 |
| Jul | 6 | 13 | 34 | 46 | 1 | 0 |
| Aug | 1 | 4 | 17 | 65 | 13 | 0 |
| Sep | 0 | 0 | 2 | 36 | 62 | 0 |
| Oct | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 93 | 0 |
| Nov | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 95 | 0 |
| Dec | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 95 | 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.
Wind in Kikwit is steady company: average speeds sit near 4 km/h — calm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Feels | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4 | calm |
| Feb | 4 | calm |
| Mar | 4 | calm |
| Apr | 4 | calm |
| May | 4 | calm |
| Jun | 4 | calm |
| Jul | 5 | calm |
| Aug | 5 | calm |
| Sep | 5 | calm |
| Oct | 4 | calm |
| Nov | 4 | calm |
| Dec | 3 | calm |
Best time to visit Kikwit
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Kikwit throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around early August, Kikwit is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.
Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.
The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Kikwit for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid May to mid August, with a peak score in the third week of June.
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) | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.4 |
| Rating | fair | poor | poor | poor | fair | fair | fair | fair | poor | poor | poor | poor |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3.6 | fair |
| Feb | 3.5 | poor |
| Mar | 3.3 | poor |
| Apr | 3.1 | poor |
| May | 4.0 | fair |
| Jun | 5.0 | fair |
| Jul | 4.8 | fair |
| Aug | 4.1 | fair |
| Sep | 3.5 | poor |
| Oct | 3.2 | poor |
| Nov | 3.2 | poor |
| Dec | 3.4 | poor |
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 Kikwit for hot-weather activities is from late May to mid August, with a peak score in the last week of June.
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 Kikwit, 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.
Kikwit packs about the same all year — highs hold near 32°C. Across the year the things worth having are light clothes, sun protection and rain gear.
In July, Kikwit sees daytime highs around 32°C and nights near 21°C. Pack light clothes. Worth having: sun protection.
UV index (midday) in Kikwit 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 Kikwit peaks around March 14 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near August 14 at about 4 (moderate).
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) | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 10 |
| Level | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | Very high | High | Moderate | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Very high |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 13 | Extreme |
| Feb | 14 | Extreme |
| Mar | 14 | Extreme |
| Apr | 13 | Extreme |
| May | 9 | Very high |
| Jun | 8 | Very high |
| Jul | 7 | High |
| Aug | 4 | Moderate |
| Sep | 10 | Very high |
| Oct | 13 | Extreme |
| Nov | 13 | Extreme |
| Dec | 10 | Very high |
Average hourly UV index in Kikwit
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 March the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6.5 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) | 8 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6.5 | 6 | 4 | 7.5 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 6 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 6.5 | 6 | 5 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | 6 |
| Feb | 8.5 | 6.5 |
| Mar | 8 | 6.5 |
| Apr | 8 | 6 |
| May | 7 | 4.5 |
| Jun | 6.5 | 3.5 |
| Jul | 6 | 2 |
| Aug | 4 | 0 |
| Sep | 7.5 | 5 |
| Oct | 8 | 6.5 |
| Nov | 8 | 6 |
| Dec | 7.5 | 5 |
Air quality in Kikwit 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 Kikwit is worst in August — around 166 µg/m³ PM2.5 (very unhealthy), about 12.2× the cleanest month (November, 14 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) | 22 | 26 | 25 | 21 | 61 | 136 | 117 | 166 | 36 | 17 | 14 | 16 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Very unhealthy | Poor | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22 | Moderate |
| Feb | 26 | Moderate |
| Mar | 25 | Moderate |
| Apr | 21 | Moderate |
| May | 61 | Unhealthy |
| Jun | 136 | Unhealthy |
| Jul | 117 | Unhealthy |
| Aug | 166 | Very unhealthy |
| Sep | 36 | Poor |
| Oct | 17 | Moderate |
| Nov | 14 | Moderate |
| Dec | 16 | Moderate |
Growing season
Kikwit 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. Kikwit banks about 5,865 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 493 | 457 | 507 | 483 | 500 | 481 | 508 | 517 | 490 | 487 | 462 | 481 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 493 |
| Feb | 457 |
| Mar | 507 |
| Apr | 483 |
| May | 500 |
| Jun | 481 |
| Jul | 508 |
| Aug | 517 |
| Sep | 490 |
| Oct | 487 |
| Nov | 462 |
| Dec | 481 |
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.
Kikwit receives about 5.3 kWh/m² a day of solar energy — bright — and it stays remarkably steady, holding between 4.9 and 5.6 kWh/m² all year. For solar panels, output here is a flat line, not a seasonal wave.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 5.3 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 5.1 |
| Level | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5.3 | Bright |
| Feb | 5.6 | Bright |
| Mar | 5.5 | Bright |
| Apr | 5.0 | Bright |
| May | 4.9 | Bright |
| Jun | 5.1 | Bright |
| Jul | 5.3 | Bright |
| Aug | 5.3 | Bright |
| Sep | 5.4 | Bright |
| Oct | 5.3 | Bright |
| Nov | 5.2 | Bright |
| Dec | 5.1 | Bright |
Where is Kikwit?
Kikwit sits at 5.0°S, 18.8°E, 466 m above sea level, in Democratic Republic of the Congo. The nearest listed city is Bulungu, 60 km away.
Topography around Kikwit
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Kikwit.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Kikwit has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 163 m around an average of 426 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 307 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 500 m.
The land around Kikwit is covered by trees (38%) and artificial surfaces (37%) within 3 km, shrubs (38%), grassland (34%) and trees (24%) within 16 km, and grassland (47%), trees (29%) and shrubs (24%) within 80 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 Kikwit (-5.041°, 18.8162°, elevation 466 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).