Addis Ababa in Spring

In spring (March, April and May), Addis Ababa sees average daytime highs around 24°C and overnight lows near 11°C, with 384 mm of rain over about 37 wet days across the season. It is the warmest season of the year and the 2nd-wettest season.

Across spring, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 24°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 26% of the time across spring, and the air most often feels dry.

Spring is Addis Ababa's 2nd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Addis Ababa's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
24°C
warmest season of the year
Avg overnight low
11°C
Rainfall
384 mm
37 wet days
Avg wind
7 km/h
Travel score
6.6
2nd-best season
Months
Mar · Apr · May

Temperature in Addis Ababa in Spring

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across spring, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 24°C.

A typical spring day in Addis Ababa reaches about 24°C and drops to 11°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is March, the coolest March.

10°15°20°25°30°MarAprMay

Addis Ababa weather by month

How the three spring months (March, April and May) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan23° / 153.311.58.1
Feb24° / 10°194.211.78.1
Mar24° / 11°651011.97.2
Apr24° / 12°14213.612.26.4
May23° / 12°17713.612.46.3
Jun22° / 11°26723.512.54.6
Jul20° / 11°37730.912.53.3
Aug20° / 11°4073112.33.3
Sep20° / 11°27524.912.14.2
Oct21° / 486.911.87.2
Nov22° / 101.811.68.3
Dec22° / 61.211.58.5

Cloud cover in Spring

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 26% of the time across spring.

0%25%50%75%100%MarAprMay

Chance of precipitation in Spring

Any precipitation

Addis Ababa gets around 384 mm of rain over 37 wet days across spring. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%MarAprMay

Humidity in Spring

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%MarAprMay

Wind in Spring

Winds average 7 km/h across spring.

051015MarAprMay

Sunrise & sunset in Spring

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 48 min in early March to 12 h 30 min by late May. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMMarAprMay

Solar energy in Spring

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across spring, about 6.3 kWh/m².

0246MarAprMay
Planning a trip in spring

Hazard calendar for Addis Ababa

In seasonPeak

None of Addis Ababa's seasonal hazards peak in spring. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.

Addis Ababa's monsoon runs June–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

Monsoon
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is spring a good time to visit Addis Ababa?

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

6.6
Sightseeing
2nd-best month of the year
5.5
Beach & pool
2nd-best month of the year

spring is a reasonable time to visit Addis Ababa for sightseeing.

What to pack for Addis Ababa in Spring

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

In spring, Addis Ababa sees daytime highs around 24°C and nights near 11°C. Pack rain gear and sun protection. Worth having: light clothes. About 37 days see rain.

rain gearsun protectionlight clothes

UV index in Addis Ababa in Spring

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across spring averages around 15 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Addis Ababa peaks around March 18 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 10 at about 11 (extreme).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeMar 18UV 16Dec 10UV 11
UV index (midday)Level
Jan13Extreme
Feb15Extreme
Mar16Extreme
Apr15Extreme
May14Extreme
Jun13Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug15Extreme
Sep13Extreme
Oct13Extreme
Nov11Extreme
Dec11Extreme

Air quality in Addis Ababa in Spring

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Addis Ababa is worst in September — around 25 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Addis Ababa's WHO annual average of 20.5 µg/m³.

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateSep 1925 µg/m³Apr 1119 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan19Moderate
Feb19Moderate
Mar19Moderate
Apr19Moderate
May21Moderate
Jun24Moderate
Jul19Moderate
Aug19Moderate
Sep25Moderate
Oct22Moderate
Nov19Moderate
Dec20Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Addis Ababa?

Addis Ababa sits at 9.0°N, 38.7°E, 2,405 m above sea level, in Ethiopia. The nearest listed city is Burayu, 10 km away.

Topography around Addis Ababa

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Addis Ababa has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 259 m around an average of 2,409 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,149 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,254 m.

The land around Addis Ababa is covered by artificial surfaces (84%) within 3 km, artificial surfaces (36%) and cropland (33%) within 16 km, and cropland (80%) within 80 km.

3 km
259 m
16 km
1,149 m
80 km
2,254 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
Spring weather nearby: Burayu 10 km · Sebeta 19 km · Genet 28 km · Sendafa 33 km · Ādīs ‘Alem 38 km · Bishoftu 40 km · Mojo 64 km · Gīnch’ī 66 km

Ethiopia travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 3
Reconsider Travel
Power plugs
Type C / E / F / L
220 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 37% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$933
2025
Happiness
4.0 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
14%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
8.5
per 100k, 2012
Road deaths
28.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Low
World Bank
English
Low
EF EPI 499
Religion
Ethiopian Orthodox 44%Muslim 31%Protestant 23%other 1%

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 Addis Ababa (9.025°, 38.7469°, elevation 2,405 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.