Climate and average weather in Kinshasa
In Kinshasa, the weather is muggy, hot, wet, and mostly cloudy 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 Kinshasa typically varies from 20°C to 31°C, and is rarely below 18°C or above 33°C. March is the hottest month of the year, while July is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Kinshasa for warm-weather activities is from late May to early September.
- Hottest
- Mar
- 31°
- Coldest
- Jul
- 20°
- Wettest
- Nov
- 183 mm
- Driest
- Jul
- 1 mm
- Rain / yr
- 1017 mm
- 166 wet days
- Daylight
- 11.7–12.3 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 281 m
- 4.3°S
- Clearest
- Jun
- 63% cloud
Kinshasa is capital and the largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo having the status of a province.
- Density
- 1,606/km²
- people per km²
- Founded
- 1881
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Kinshasa 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 late May to early September.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Kinshasa, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
Temperatures in Kinshasa stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is March, with an average high of 31°C and low of 23°C; the coolest is July, with an average low of 20°C and high of 28°C.
Days typically run about 8°C warmer than nights year-round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 30 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 |
| Avg low (°C) | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 23 |
| Feb | 30 | 23 |
| Mar | 31 | 23 |
| Apr | 31 | 23 |
| May | 30 | 23 |
| Jun | 29 | 21 |
| Jul | 28 | 20 |
| Aug | 29 | 20 |
| Sep | 30 | 22 |
| Oct | 30 | 22 |
| Nov | 29 | 22 |
| Dec | 29 | 22 |
How hot and cold Kinshasa 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, Kinshasa feels like about 35°C (around April 7). About 256 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in April.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | 33 | 34 | 35 | 35 | 33 | 30 | 29 | 30 | 32 | 33 | 33 | 33 |
| Air high (°C) | 30 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
| Air low (°C) | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 30 | 23 | 23 |
| Feb | 34 | 30 | 23 | 23 |
| Mar | 35 | 31 | 23 | 23 |
| Apr | 35 | 31 | 23 | 23 |
| May | 33 | 30 | 22 | 23 |
| Jun | 30 | 29 | 20 | 21 |
| Jul | 29 | 28 | 19 | 20 |
| Aug | 30 | 29 | 20 | 20 |
| Sep | 32 | 30 | 22 | 22 |
| Oct | 33 | 30 | 22 | 22 |
| Nov | 33 | 29 | 22 | 22 |
| Dec | 33 | 29 | 22 | 22 |
Average hourly temperature in Kinshasa
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 March afternoons, near 31°C, and coldest before dawn in July, near 20°C.
Kinshasa 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° / 23° | 116 | 20.9 | 12.2 | 3.7 |
| Feb | 30° / 23° | 102 | 15.7 | 12.1 | 3.8 |
| Mar | 31° / 23° | 109 | 17.9 | 12 | 3.5 |
| Apr | 31° / 23° | 140 | 21.3 | 11.9 | 3.2 |
| May | 30° / 23° | 73 | 14.5 | 11.8 | 4.4 |
| Jun | 29° / 21° | 4 | 1.2 | 11.8 | 6.6 |
| Jul | 28° / 20° | 1 | 0.2 | 11.8 | 6.9 |
| Aug | 29° / 20° | 5 | 1 | 11.9 | 6.3 |
| Sep | 30° / 22° | 16 | 5 | 12 | 5.1 |
| Oct | 30° / 22° | 112 | 18.7 | 12.1 | 3.8 |
| Nov | 29° / 22° | 183 | 25 | 12.2 | 3.3 |
| Dec | 29° / 22° | 156 | 24.9 | 12.2 | 3.5 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Kinshasa gets about 1017 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 7.2 months, from around Oct 9 to May 16, peaking in November at about 83% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jun 23.
November is the wettest month by volume, with 183 mm over about 25 wet days; July is the driest, with 1 mm.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 68 | 56 | 59 | 70 | 46 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 17 | 60 | 83 | 80 |
| Rain days | 21 | 16 | 18 | 21 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 19 | 25 | 25 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 68 | 21 |
| Feb | 56 | 16 |
| Mar | 59 | 18 |
| Apr | 70 | 21 |
| May | 46 | 15 |
| Jun | 5 | 1 |
| Jul | 1 | 0 |
| Aug | 4 | 1 |
| Sep | 17 | 5 |
| Oct | 60 | 19 |
| Nov | 83 | 25 |
| Dec | 80 | 25 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Kinshasa collects about 1017 mm of rain across 166 wet days — roughly 85 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. November is the wettest month with 183 mm, while July is the driest at just 1 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 47% of the year’s total.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 116 | 102 | 109 | 140 | 73 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 112 | 183 | 156 |
| Rain days | 21 | 16 | 18 | 21 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 19 | 25 | 25 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 116 | 21 |
| Feb | 102 | 16 |
| Mar | 109 | 18 |
| Apr | 140 | 21 |
| May | 73 | 15 |
| Jun | 4 | 1 |
| Jul | 1 | 0 |
| Aug | 5 | 1 |
| Sep | 16 | 5 |
| Oct | 112 | 19 |
| Nov | 183 | 25 |
| Dec | 156 | 25 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Kinshasa, 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 May 3 and lasts for 3.0 months, ending around August 1. The clearest month is June, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 42% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around November 10 and lasts for 5.7 months, ending around May 2. The cloudiest month is February, 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 | 17 | 21 | 35 | 42 | 37 | 21 | 26 | 31 | 25 | 18 |
| Cloudier (%) | 83 | 85 | 83 | 79 | 65 | 58 | 63 | 79 | 74 | 69 | 75 | 82 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17 | 83 |
| Feb | 15 | 85 |
| Mar | 17 | 83 |
| Apr | 21 | 79 |
| May | 35 | 65 |
| Jun | 42 | 58 |
| Jul | 37 | 63 |
| Aug | 21 | 79 |
| Sep | 26 | 74 |
| Oct | 31 | 69 |
| Nov | 25 | 75 |
| Dec | 18 | 82 |
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, Kinshasa 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) | 12.2 | 12.1 | 12.0 | 11.9 | 11.8 | 11.8 | 11.8 | 11.9 | 12.0 | 12.1 | 12.2 | 12.2 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 6:01 | 6:09 | 6:08 | 6:02 | 6:01 | 6:06 | 6:11 | 6:07 | 5:54 | 5:41 | 5:38 | 5:47 |
| Sunset (PM) | 6:15 | 6:18 | 6:09 | 5:56 | 5:49 | 5:52 | 5:58 | 5:59 | 5:52 | 5:47 | 5:50 | 6:02 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12.2 | 6:01 | 6:15 |
| Feb | 12.1 | 6:09 | 6:18 |
| Mar | 12.0 | 6:08 | 6:09 |
| Apr | 11.9 | 6:02 | 5:56 |
| May | 11.8 | 6:01 | 5:49 |
| Jun | 11.8 | 6:06 | 5:52 |
| Jul | 11.8 | 6:11 | 5:58 |
| Aug | 11.9 | 6:07 | 5:59 |
| Sep | 12.0 | 5:54 | 5:52 |
| Oct | 12.1 | 5:41 | 5:47 |
| Nov | 12.2 | 5:38 | 5:50 |
| Dec | 12.2 | 5:47 | 6:02 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Kinshasa averages about 3 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 1 and 7 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 3.4 months, from around May 3 to Aug 13. The sunniest month is June, with roughly 6 sunny days (gloomy).
The greyest month is December, down near 1 sunny days — about 81% fewer than the June peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Sky | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | Gloomy |
| Feb | 1 | Gloomy |
| Mar | 2 | Gloomy |
| Apr | 2 | Gloomy |
| May | 4 | Gloomy |
| Jun | 6 | Gloomy |
| Jul | 6 | Gloomy |
| Aug | 2 | Gloomy |
| Sep | 2 | Gloomy |
| Oct | 2 | Gloomy |
| Nov | 2 | 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.
Kinshasa is humid all year round — on a typical day the air feels at least humid, and there is no real dry season to wait for.
The stickiest month is January, when it feels muggy, oppressive or miserable about 100% of the time. Even in July, the mildest month, the air is dry or comfortable only 1% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comfortable (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Humid (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 57 | 53 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Muggy (%) | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 68 | 42 | 46 | 81 | 45 | 5 | 1 |
| Oppressive (%) | 97 | 93 | 94 | 96 | 86 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 54 | 95 | 99 |
| Miserable (%) | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Comfortable (%) | Humid (%) | Muggy (%) | Oppressive (%) | Miserable (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | 0 | 3 | 97 | 1 |
| Feb | 0 | 0 | 5 | 93 | 3 |
| Mar | 0 | 0 | 3 | 94 | 2 |
| Apr | 0 | 0 | 1 | 96 | 3 |
| May | 0 | 1 | 12 | 86 | 1 |
| Jun | 0 | 16 | 68 | 16 | 0 |
| Jul | 1 | 57 | 42 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug | 1 | 53 | 46 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep | 0 | 15 | 81 | 3 | 0 |
| Oct | 0 | 1 | 45 | 54 | 0 |
| Nov | 0 | 0 | 5 | 95 | 0 |
| Dec | 0 | 0 | 1 | 99 | 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 Kinshasa is typically calm, near 6 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.
The windier part of the year lasts 4.5 months, from around Jun 7 to Oct 20. The windiest month is August, averaging about 8 km/h (calm).
The calmer part of the year runs from around Oct 21 to Jun 6, with April the calmest month at about 4 km/h.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| Feels | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5 | calm |
| Feb | 5 | calm |
| Mar | 5 | calm |
| Apr | 4 | calm |
| May | 5 | calm |
| Jun | 6 | calm |
| Jul | 7 | calm |
| Aug | 8 | calm |
| Sep | 7 | calm |
| Oct | 6 | calm |
| Nov | 5 | calm |
| Dec | 4 | calm |
Hazard calendar for Kinshasa
When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.
Kinshasa's rainy season runs October–April, when most of the year's rain falls.
Best time to visit Kinshasa
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Kinshasa throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around late August, Kinshasa 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 Kinshasa for general outdoor tourist activities is from late May to early September, with a peak score in the last 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) | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 6.5 | 6.9 | 6.3 | 5.1 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
| Rating | fair | fair | fair | poor | fair | good | good | good | fair | fair | poor | poor |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3.7 | fair |
| Feb | 3.8 | fair |
| Mar | 3.5 | fair |
| Apr | 3.3 | poor |
| May | 4.4 | fair |
| Jun | 6.5 | good |
| Jul | 6.9 | good |
| Aug | 6.3 | good |
| Sep | 5.1 | fair |
| Oct | 3.8 | fair |
| Nov | 3.3 | poor |
| Dec | 3.5 | 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 Kinshasa for hot-weather activities is from late May to late September, 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 Kinshasa, 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.
Kinshasa packs about the same all year — highs hold near 31°C. Across the year the things worth having are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection.
In March, Kinshasa sees daytime highs around 31°C and nights near 23°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 18 days see rain.
UV index (midday) in Kinshasa 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 Kinshasa peaks around March 17 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near August 11 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) | 14 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 13 | 12 | 10 |
| Level | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | High | High | High | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Very high |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14 | Extreme |
| Feb | 13 | Extreme |
| Mar | 15 | Extreme |
| Apr | 13 | Extreme |
| May | 9 | Very high |
| Jun | 7 | High |
| Jul | 7 | High |
| Aug | 6 | High |
| Sep | 10 | Very high |
| Oct | 13 | Extreme |
| Nov | 12 | Extreme |
| Dec | 10 | Very high |
Average hourly UV index in Kinshasa
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 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6.5 | 6 | 6 | 7.5 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6 | 4.5 | 3 | 2 | 1.5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | 6.5 |
| Feb | 8 | 6.5 |
| Mar | 8 | 6.5 |
| Apr | 8 | 6 |
| May | 7 | 4.5 |
| Jun | 6.5 | 3 |
| Jul | 6 | 2 |
| Aug | 6 | 1.5 |
| Sep | 7.5 | 5 |
| Oct | 8 | 6 |
| Nov | 8 | 6 |
| Dec | 7.5 | 5 |
Air quality in Kinshasa 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 Kinshasa is worst in June — around 60 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 1.8× the cleanest month (January, 33 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 | 36 | 36 | 39 | 53 | 60 | 59 | 55 | 58 | 45 | 33 | 34 |
| Level | Moderate | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Poor | Unhealthy | Poor | Moderate | Moderate |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | Moderate |
| Feb | 36 | Poor |
| Mar | 36 | Poor |
| Apr | 39 | Poor |
| May | 53 | Poor |
| Jun | 60 | Unhealthy |
| Jul | 59 | Unhealthy |
| Aug | 55 | Poor |
| Sep | 58 | Unhealthy |
| Oct | 45 | Poor |
| Nov | 33 | Moderate |
| Dec | 34 | Moderate |
Growing season
Kinshasa 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. Kinshasa banks about 5,757 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around March.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 497 | 461 | 522 | 504 | 503 | 439 | 431 | 450 | 477 | 506 | 476 | 489 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 497 |
| Feb | 461 |
| Mar | 522 |
| Apr | 504 |
| May | 503 |
| Jun | 439 |
| Jul | 431 |
| Aug | 450 |
| Sep | 477 |
| Oct | 506 |
| Nov | 476 |
| Dec | 489 |
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.
Kinshasa receives about 4.8 kWh/m² a day of solar energy — bright — and it stays remarkably steady, holding between 4.3 and 5.2 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) | 4.9 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.8 |
| Level | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4.9 | Bright |
| Feb | 5.1 | Bright |
| Mar | 5.2 | Bright |
| Apr | 4.9 | Bright |
| May | 4.5 | Bright |
| Jun | 4.4 | Bright |
| Jul | 4.6 | Bright |
| Aug | 4.4 | Bright |
| Sep | 4.7 | Bright |
| Oct | 4.9 | Bright |
| Nov | 4.9 | Bright |
| Dec | 4.8 | Bright |
Where is Kinshasa?
Kinshasa sits at 4.3°S, 15.3°E, 281 m above sea level, in Democratic Republic of the Congo. The nearest listed city is Brazzaville, 8.0 km away.
What Kinshasa looks like
Topography around Kinshasa
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Kinshasa.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Kinshasa has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 30 m around an average of 284 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 346 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 578 m.
The land around Kinshasa is covered by artificial surfaces (86%) within 3 km, artificial surfaces (39%) within 16 km, and grassland (55%) and trees (32%) 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 Kinshasa (-4.3276°, 15.3136°, elevation 281 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).