Malabo in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Malabo sees average daytime highs around 27°C and overnight lows near 25°C, with 186 mm of rain over about 50 wet days across the season. It is the 2nd-warmest season and the driest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 27°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels oppressive.

Winter is Malabo's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. Malabo has little temperature swing across the year, so its calendar seasons blur — the season framing matters less here than for a place with four distinct seasons. For the whole year in context, see Malabo's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
27°C
2nd-warmest season
Avg overnight low
25°C
Rainfall
186 mm
50 wet days
Avg wind
8 km/h
Travel score
5.4
best season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Malabo in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 27°C.

A typical winter day in Malabo reaches about 27°C and drops to 25°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest December.

20°23°25°28°30°DecJanFeb

Malabo weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan27° / 25°5215.311.85.7
Feb27° / 26°7216.411.95.1
Mar27° / 26°16526.7123.9
Apr27° / 25°18827.312.13.6
May27° / 25°27329.412.23.5
Jun26° / 24°3882912.23.5
Jul25° / 24°44629.112.23.7
Aug25° / 24°43128.512.13.8
Sep25° / 24°38429123.6
Oct26° / 24°29729.911.93.5
Nov26° / 25°1712711.83.9
Dec27° / 25°6218.211.85.4

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Malabo gets around 186 mm of rain over 50 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%80%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 8 km/h across winter.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 48 min in early December to 11 h 54 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 5.4 kWh/m².

0246DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Malabo

In seasonPeak

In winter, Malabo overlaps its dust season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Malabo's rainy season runs May–October, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

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

Is winter a good time to visit Malabo?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

5.4
Sightseeing
1st-best month of the year
5.4
Beach & pool
1st-best month of the year

winter is a reasonable time to visit Malabo for sightseeing.

What to pack for Malabo in Winter

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

In winter, Malabo sees daytime highs around 27°C and nights near 25°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 50 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Malabo in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 29°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 17 km away) is warmest in April at about 29°C and coldest in August near 26°C.

The water stays above 20°C all year — warm enough for a swim any month.

24°26°28°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan29Tropical
Feb29Tropical
Mar29Tropical
Apr29Tropical
May29Tropical
Jun28Tropical
Jul27Warm
Aug26Warm
Sep27Warm
Oct28Warm
Nov28Tropical
Dec29Tropical

UV index in Malabo in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages 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 Malabo peaks around April 10 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 9 (very high).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecVery highExtremeVery highApr 10UV 14Dec 22UV 9
UV index (midday)Level
Jan9Very high
Feb11Extreme
Mar14Extreme
Apr14Extreme
May12Extreme
Jun11Extreme
Jul10Extreme
Aug10Extreme
Sep13Extreme
Oct13Extreme
Nov11Extreme
Dec9Very high

Air quality in Malabo in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Malabo is worst in January — around 59 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 8.0× the cleanest month (September, 7 µg/m³).

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

020406080JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyPoorModerateGoodModeratePoorJan 2159 µg/m³Sep 198 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan59Unhealthy
Feb56Unhealthy
Mar30Moderate
Apr22Moderate
May14Moderate
Jun14Moderate
Jul14Moderate
Aug11Good
Sep7Good
Oct9Good
Nov16Moderate
Dec46Poor
Location & terrain

Where is Malabo?

Malabo sits at 3.8°N, 8.8°E, 34 m above sea level, in Equatorial Guinea. The nearest listed city is Limbe, 56 km away.

Topography around Malabo

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Malabo has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 101 m around an average of 24 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,371 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,005 m.

The land around Malabo is covered by artificial surfaces (44%) and water (43%) within 3 km, water (50%) and trees (44%) within 16 km, and water (75%) and trees (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
101 m
16 km
2,371 m
80 km
4,005 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwatermangroves
Winter weather nearby: Limbe 56 km · Buea 68 km · Mutengene 70 km · Tiko 73 km · Bamusso 79 km · Muyuka 92 km · Ekondo Titi 98 km · Souza Gare 107 km

Equatorial Guinea travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / E
220 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 41% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$6,615
2025
Road deaths
27.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
Religion
Roman Catholic 88%Protestant 5%other 5%Muslim 2%

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 Malabo (3.7558°, 8.7817°, elevation 34 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.