Climate and average weather in Asmara
In Asmara, the summers are hot, showery, and mostly clear and the winters are warm and mostly clear.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Asmara typically varies from 12°C to 28°C, and is rarely below 9°C or above 30°C. June is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Asmara for warm-weather activities are from late January to mid March and mid September to late December.
- Hottest
- Jun
- 28°
- Coldest
- Jan
- 12°
- Wettest
- Aug
- 211 mm
- Driest
- Oct
- 28 mm
- Rain / yr
- 808 mm
- 155 wet days
- Daylight
- 11.1–12.9 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 2,334 m
- 15.3°N
- Clearest
- Sep
- 29% cloud
Asmara is capital city of Eritrea.
- Density
- 46/km²
- people per km²
- Founded
- 1897
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Asmara 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 September to late December.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Asmara, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
Temperatures in Asmara stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is June, with an average high of 28°C and low of 16°C; the coolest is January, with an average low of 12°C and high of 22°C.
Days typically run about 11°C warmer than nights year-round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 22 | 23 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 25 | 23 | 22 |
| Avg low (°C) | 12 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 12 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22 | 12 |
| Feb | 23 | 12 |
| Mar | 25 | 14 |
| Apr | 26 | 15 |
| May | 27 | 16 |
| Jun | 28 | 16 |
| Jul | 26 | 16 |
| Aug | 26 | 17 |
| Sep | 27 | 16 |
| Oct | 25 | 14 |
| Nov | 23 | 13 |
| Dec | 22 | 12 |
Average hourly temperature in Asmara
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 June afternoons, near 28°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near 12°C.
Asmara 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 | 22° / 12° | 49 | 12.9 | 11.2 | 6.5 |
| Feb | 23° / 12° | 34 | 9.3 | 11.5 | 7.1 |
| Mar | 25° / 14° | 48 | 12.2 | 11.9 | 6.8 |
| Apr | 26° / 15° | 63 | 16.1 | 12.3 | 6.1 |
| May | 27° / 16° | 47 | 10.8 | 12.7 | 6.8 |
| Jun | 28° / 16° | 39 | 8.3 | 12.9 | 6.3 |
| Jul | 26° / 16° | 182 | 27.3 | 12.8 | 4.2 |
| Aug | 26° / 17° | 211 | 26.9 | 12.5 | 4.3 |
| Sep | 27° / 16° | 38 | 6.1 | 12.1 | 7.5 |
| Oct | 25° / 14° | 28 | 5.7 | 11.7 | 8.1 |
| Nov | 23° / 13° | 32 | 8.4 | 11.3 | 7.6 |
| Dec | 22° / 12° | 36 | 10.9 | 11.1 | 6.9 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Asmara gets about 808 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 2.5 months, from around Jun 23 to Sep 6, peaking in July at about 95% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Sep 25.
August is the wettest month by volume, with 211 mm over about 27 wet days; October is the driest, with 28 mm.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 41 | 33 | 40 | 53 | 34 | 31 | 86 | 84 | 24 | 18 | 28 | 36 |
| Rain days | 13 | 9 | 12 | 16 | 11 | 8 | 27 | 27 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 11 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 13 |
| Feb | 33 | 9 |
| Mar | 40 | 12 |
| Apr | 53 | 16 |
| May | 34 | 11 |
| Jun | 31 | 8 |
| Jul | 86 | 27 |
| Aug | 84 | 27 |
| Sep | 24 | 6 |
| Oct | 18 | 6 |
| Nov | 28 | 8 |
| Dec | 36 | 11 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Asmara collects about 808 mm of rain across 155 wet days — roughly 67 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 211 mm, while October is the driest at just 28 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 57% of the year’s total.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 49 | 34 | 48 | 63 | 47 | 39 | 182 | 211 | 38 | 28 | 32 | 36 |
| Rain days | 13 | 9 | 12 | 16 | 11 | 8 | 27 | 27 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 11 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 49 | 13 |
| Feb | 34 | 9 |
| Mar | 48 | 12 |
| Apr | 63 | 16 |
| May | 47 | 11 |
| Jun | 39 | 8 |
| Jul | 182 | 27 |
| Aug | 211 | 27 |
| Sep | 38 | 6 |
| Oct | 28 | 6 |
| Nov | 32 | 8 |
| Dec | 36 | 11 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Asmara, 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 September 4 and lasts for 3.9 months, ending around December 31. The clearest month is November, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 87% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around June 21 and lasts for 2.5 months, ending around September 3. The cloudiest month is August, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 49% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 72 | 76 | 78 | 85 | 83 | 77 | 52 | 51 | 86 | 86 | 87 | 78 |
| Cloudier (%) | 28 | 24 | 22 | 15 | 17 | 23 | 48 | 49 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 22 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 72 | 28 |
| Feb | 76 | 24 |
| Mar | 78 | 22 |
| Apr | 85 | 15 |
| May | 83 | 17 |
| Jun | 77 | 23 |
| Jul | 52 | 48 |
| Aug | 51 | 49 |
| Sep | 86 | 14 |
| Oct | 86 | 14 |
| Nov | 87 | 13 |
| Dec | 78 | 22 |
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. The longest day, around June 3, brings about 12 h 54 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 11 h 06 min — a swing of roughly 1 h 48 min.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 11.2 | 11.5 | 11.9 | 12.3 | 12.7 | 12.9 | 12.8 | 12.5 | 12.1 | 11.7 | 11.3 | 11.1 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 6:58 | 6:54 | 6:37 | 6:14 | 5:59 | 5:57 | 6:05 | 6:13 | 6:16 | 6:20 | 6:31 | 6:48 |
| Sunset (PM) | 6:09 | 6:24 | 6:31 | 6:35 | 6:42 | 6:52 | 6:55 | 6:44 | 6:21 | 5:59 | 5:48 | 5:53 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11.2 | 6:58 | 6:09 |
| Feb | 11.5 | 6:54 | 6:24 |
| Mar | 11.9 | 6:37 | 6:31 |
| Apr | 12.3 | 6:14 | 6:35 |
| May | 12.7 | 5:59 | 6:42 |
| Jun | 12.9 | 5:57 | 6:52 |
| Jul | 12.8 | 6:05 | 6:55 |
| Aug | 12.5 | 6:13 | 6:44 |
| Sep | 12.1 | 6:16 | 6:21 |
| Oct | 11.7 | 6:20 | 5:59 |
| Nov | 11.3 | 6:31 | 5:48 |
| Dec | 11.1 | 6:48 | 5:53 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Asmara averages about 15 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 3 and 24 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 3.0 months, from around Sep 4 to Dec 3. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 21 sunny days (bright).
The greyest month is August, down near 6 sunny days — about 69% fewer than the September peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 13 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 16 | 6 | 7 | 20 | 22 | 19 | 14 |
| Sky | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Bright | Bright | Bright | Gloomy | Gloomy | Bright | Bright | Bright | Mixed |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 13 | Mixed |
| Feb | 11 | Mixed |
| Mar | 14 | Mixed |
| Apr | 16 | Bright |
| May | 19 | Bright |
| Jun | 16 | Bright |
| Jul | 6 | Gloomy |
| Aug | 7 | Gloomy |
| Sep | 20 | Bright |
| Oct | 22 | Bright |
| Nov | 19 | Bright |
| Dec | 14 | Mixed |
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 Asmara, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in April, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 12% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 75 | 64 | 53 | 41 | 59 | 78 | 19 | 14 | 75 | 66 | 53 | 58 |
| Comfortable (%) | 25 | 35 | 43 | 47 | 34 | 22 | 78 | 83 | 25 | 33 | 45 | 41 |
| Humid (%) | 0 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Dry (%) | Comfortable (%) | Humid (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 75 | 25 | 0 |
| Feb | 64 | 35 | 0 |
| Mar | 53 | 43 | 5 |
| Apr | 41 | 47 | 12 |
| May | 59 | 34 | 7 |
| Jun | 78 | 22 | 0 |
| Jul | 19 | 78 | 3 |
| Aug | 14 | 83 | 3 |
| Sep | 75 | 25 | 0 |
| Oct | 66 | 33 | 1 |
| Nov | 53 | 45 | 1 |
| Dec | 58 | 41 | 1 |
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 Asmara is typically calm, near 6 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.
The windier part of the year lasts 4.6 months, from around May 26 to Oct 13. The windiest month is July, averaging about 9 km/h (calm).
The calmer part of the year runs from around Oct 14 to May 25, with November the calmest month at about 5 km/h.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| 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 | 5 | calm |
| May | 5 | calm |
| Jun | 8 | calm |
| Jul | 9 | calm |
| Aug | 8 | calm |
| Sep | 7 | calm |
| Oct | 6 | calm |
| Nov | 5 | calm |
| Dec | 5 | calm |
Hazard calendar for Asmara
When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.
Asmara's rainy season runs July–August, when most of the year's rain falls.
Asmara sees seasonal dust haze (June–August), heaviest in July.
Best time to visit Asmara
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Asmara throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around late December, Asmara 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 times of year to visit Asmara for general outdoor tourist activities run from late January to mid March and again from mid September to late December, with a peak score in the last week of September.
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) | 6.5 | 7.1 | 6.8 | 6.1 | 6.8 | 6.3 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 7.4 | 8.1 | 7.6 | 6.8 |
| Rating | good | good | good | good | good | good | fair | fair | good | ideal | ideal | good |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6.5 | good |
| Feb | 7.1 | good |
| Mar | 6.8 | good |
| Apr | 6.1 | good |
| May | 6.8 | good |
| Jun | 6.3 | good |
| Jul | 4.3 | fair |
| Aug | 4.4 | fair |
| Sep | 7.4 | good |
| Oct | 8.1 | ideal |
| Nov | 7.6 | ideal |
| Dec | 6.8 | good |
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Asmara for hot-weather activities run from mid May to late June and again from early September to early November, with a peak score in the last week of September.
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 Asmara, 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.
For a warm-season trip around June (highs near 28°C), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 22°C), pack light clothes, rain gear and sun protection.
In June, Asmara sees daytime highs around 28°C and nights near 16°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 8 days see rain.
UV index (midday) in Asmara 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 Asmara peaks around April 12 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 13 at about 9 (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 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 9 |
| Level | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | Very high |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11 | Extreme |
| Feb | 13 | Extreme |
| Mar | 14 | Extreme |
| Apr | 15 | Extreme |
| May | 13 | Extreme |
| Jun | 11 | Extreme |
| Jul | 11 | Extreme |
| Aug | 11 | Extreme |
| Sep | 13 | Extreme |
| Oct | 12 | Extreme |
| Nov | 9 | Very high |
| Dec | 9 | Very high |
Average hourly UV index in Asmara
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 April the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 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) | 7 | 7.5 | 8 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 7 | 6.5 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 5 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 4 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | 5 |
| Feb | 7.5 | 5.5 |
| Mar | 8 | 6.5 |
| Apr | 8.5 | 6.5 |
| May | 8.5 | 6.5 |
| Jun | 8 | 6 |
| Jul | 8 | 6 |
| Aug | 8 | 6 |
| Sep | 8 | 6 |
| Oct | 7.5 | 5.5 |
| Nov | 7 | 4.5 |
| Dec | 6.5 | 4 |
Air quality in Asmara 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 Asmara is worst in June — around 27 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.
Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 22 | 22 | 26 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 24 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 21 | 19 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22 | Moderate |
| Feb | 22 | Moderate |
| Mar | 26 | Moderate |
| Apr | 25 | Moderate |
| May | 26 | Moderate |
| Jun | 27 | Moderate |
| Jul | 24 | Moderate |
| Aug | 22 | Moderate |
| Sep | 24 | Moderate |
| Oct | 24 | Moderate |
| Nov | 21 | Moderate |
| Dec | 19 | Moderate |
Growing season
Asmara 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. Asmara banks about 3,529 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around June.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 210 | 220 | 284 | 308 | 352 | 366 | 344 | 348 | 339 | 296 | 243 | 218 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 210 |
| Feb | 220 |
| Mar | 284 |
| Apr | 308 |
| May | 352 |
| Jun | 366 |
| Jul | 344 |
| Aug | 348 |
| Sep | 339 |
| Oct | 296 |
| Nov | 243 |
| Dec | 218 |
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.
Asmara receives about 5.8 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 5.0 and 6.7 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 4.2 months, from around Feb 22 to Jun 28. The brightest month is April, averaging about 6.7 kWh/m² (intense).
The dimmest month is December, down near 5.1 kWh/m² — roughly 24% less than the April peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 5.1 | 5.7 | 6.3 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.2 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 6.1 | 5.9 | 5.5 | 5.0 |
| Level | Bright | Bright | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense | Bright | Bright | Intense | Bright | Bright | Bright |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5.1 | Bright |
| Feb | 5.7 | Bright |
| Mar | 6.3 | Intense |
| Apr | 6.7 | Intense |
| May | 6.7 | Intense |
| Jun | 6.2 | Intense |
| Jul | 5.3 | Bright |
| Aug | 5.3 | Bright |
| Sep | 6.1 | Intense |
| Oct | 5.9 | Bright |
| Nov | 5.5 | Bright |
| Dec | 5.0 | Bright |
Where is Asmara?
Asmara sits at 15.3°N, 38.9°E, 2,334 m above sea level, in Eritrea. The nearest listed city is Mendefera, 52 km away.
Topography around Asmara
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Asmara.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Asmara has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 125 m around an average of 2,341 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,574 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,865 m.
The land around Asmara is covered by artificial surfaces (52%) and cropland (29%) within 3 km, cropland (32%), grassland (31%) and shrubs (30%) within 16 km, and grassland (33%), shrubs (29%) and bare terrain (20%) within 80 km.
Eritrea travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 2
- Exercise Increased Caution
- Power plugs
- Type C / L
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 33% of US
- price level, 2021
- GDP per capita
- $689
- 2011
- Homicide rate
- 15.6
- per 100k, 2012
- Road deaths
- 37.9
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- Low
- World Bank
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 Asmara (15.3381°, 38.9318°, elevation 2,334 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).