Climate and average weather in Bonga

In Bonga, the weather is warm, wet, and partly cloudy and remarkably steady, with daytime highs holding near warm levels all year. The wettest stretch peaks around October.

Best: early December to late February

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Bonga typically varies from 11°C to 26°C, and is rarely below 9°C or above 28°C. February is the hottest month of the year, while July is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Bonga for warm-weather activities is from early December to late February.

Hottest
Feb
26°
Coldest
Jul
13°
Wettest
Oct
411 mm
Driest
Jan
104 mm
Rain / yr
2965 mm
300 wet days
Daylight
11.6–12.4 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
1,673 m
7.3°N
Clearest
Dec
55% cloud

Bonga is town in Ethiopia.

Density
4,088/km²
people per km²

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Bonga 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 early December to late February.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Bonga, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

Temperatures in Bonga stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is February, with an average high of 26°C and low of 13°C; the coolest is July, with an average low of 13°C and high of 21°C.

Days typically run about 11°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 13°C) in February.

10°15°20°25°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2512
Feb2613
Mar2513
Apr2414
May2313
Jun2213
Jul2113
Aug2213
Sep2213
Oct2312
Nov2412
Dec2411

Average hourly temperature in Bonga

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 February afternoons, near 26°C, and coldest before dawn in July, near 13°C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Bonga weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan25° / 12°10415.411.66.1
Feb26° / 13°11616.211.85.6
Mar25° / 13°25524.9124.5
Apr24° / 14°38828.312.23.8
May23° / 13°39230.712.33.6
Jun22° / 13°21028.712.43.7
Jul21° / 13°21127.612.43.8
Aug22° / 13°21727.212.23.9
Sep22° / 13°31228.7123.7
Oct23° / 12°41129.611.83.8
Nov24° / 12°22224.211.74.6
Dec24° / 11°12718.311.65.8

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Bonga gets about 2965 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 7.9 months, from around Mar 18 to Nov 13, peaking in May at about 99% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jan 3.

October is the wettest month by volume, with 411 mm over about 30 wet days; January is the driest, with 104 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%110%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetMay 11 · 99%Jan 3 · 43%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan5015
Feb5816
Mar8025
Apr9528
May9831
Jun9529
Jul8928
Aug8827
Sep9529
Oct9530
Nov8124
Dec5918

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Bonga collects about 2965 mm of rain across 300 wet days — roughly 247 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. October is the wettest month with 411 mm, while January is the driest at just 104 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 40% of the year’s total.

050100150200250300350400450JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec104116255388392210211217312411222127
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan10415
Feb11616
Mar25525
Apr38828
May39231
Jun21029
Jul21128
Aug21727
Sep31229
Oct41130
Nov22224
Dec12718

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Bonga, 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 October 27 and lasts for 4.8 months, ending around March 22. The clearest month is December, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 61% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around March 23 and lasts for 7.2 months, ending around October 26. The cloudiest month is May, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 90% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecDec 20 · 63%May 1 · 6%mostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan5842
Feb5446
Mar3565
Apr1387
May1090
Jun2278
Jul1387
Aug1387
Sep1981
Oct2278
Nov4159
Dec6139

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

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 May 21, brings about 12 h 24 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 11 h 36 min — a swing of roughly 0 h 48 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan11.66:566:33
Feb11.86:576:42
Mar12.06:466:43
Apr12.26:306:40
May12.36:216:41
Jun12.46:236:48
Jul12.46:296:52
Aug12.26:326:46
Sep12.06:286:31
Oct11.86:256:15
Nov11.76:306:10
Dec11.66:446:19

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Bonga averages about 2 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 0 and 8 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.9 months, from around Oct 26 to Mar 22. The sunniest month is December, with roughly 7 sunny days (gloomy).

The greyest month is July, down near 0 sunny days — about 98% fewer than the December peak.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedDec 208 daysJul 250 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan7Gloomy
Feb5Gloomy
Mar3Gloomy
Apr1Gloomy
May0Gloomy
Jun0Gloomy
Jul0Gloomy
Aug0Gloomy
Sep0Gloomy
Oct1Gloomy
Nov4Gloomy
Dec7Gloomy

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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 Bonga, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.0 months, from around March 11 to June 10. The muggiest month is May, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 48% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 23 to March 10, and December is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 99% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecDec 27 · 100%May 4 · 37%humidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
Jan53451
Feb46503
Mar186517
Apr15247
May05148
Jun18910
Jul6931
Aug5941
Sep2944
Oct48412
Nov19757
Dec44551

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 Bonga is steady company: average speeds sit near 3 km/hcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmSep 12 · 4 km/hNov 1 · 3 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan3calm
Feb4calm
Mar4calm
Apr3calm
May3calm
Jun3calm
Jul3calm
Aug4calm
Sep4calm
Oct3calm
Nov3calm
Dec3calm

Best time to visit Bonga

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Bonga throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around mid February, Bonga 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 Bonga for general outdoor tourist activities is from early December to late February, with a peak score in the first week of January.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJan 3 · 6.5

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).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan6.1good
Feb5.6good
Mar4.5fair
Apr3.8fair
May3.6fair
Jun3.7fair
Jul3.8fair
Aug3.9fair
Sep3.7fair
Oct3.8fair
Nov4.6fair
Dec5.8good

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 Bonga for hot-weather activities is from early December to early March, with a peak score in the first week of January.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJan 4 · 5.6

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 Bonga, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

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.

Bonga packs about the same all year — highs hold near 26°C. Across the year the things worth having are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In February, Bonga sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 13°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: light clothes and sun protection. About 16 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Bonga by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

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 Bonga peaks around March 15 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 11 at about 10 (extreme).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeMar 15UV 15Dec 11UV 10
UV index (midday)Level
Jan13Extreme
Feb14Extreme
Mar15Extreme
Apr13Extreme
May12Extreme
Jun11Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug14Extreme
Sep13Extreme
Oct13Extreme
Nov11Extreme
Dec10Extreme

Average hourly UV index in Bonga

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

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 8.5 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan86
Feb86
Mar8.56.5
Apr86
May86
Jun85.5
Jul86
Aug86.5
Sep86.5
Oct86
Nov7.55.5
Dec7.55.5

Air quality in Bonga by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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 Bonga is worst in February — around 44 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 1.8× the cleanest month (August, 25 µg/m³).

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

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecPoorModerateFeb 844 µg/m³Aug 2325 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan44Poor
Feb44Poor
Mar34Moderate
Apr30Moderate
May25Moderate
Jun30Moderate
Jul28Moderate
Aug25Moderate
Sep25Moderate
Oct28Moderate
Nov32Moderate
Dec35Poor
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Bonga is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecfrost-free year round
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

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. Bonga banks about 2,921 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around March.

01,0002,0003,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan252
Feb253
Mar288
Apr268
May256
Jun227
Jul219
Aug226
Sep227
Oct241
Nov231
Dec234

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.

Bonga receives about 5.1 kWh/m² a day of solar energy — bright — and it stays remarkably steady, holding between 4.3 and 5.8 kWh/m² all year. For solar panels, output here is a flat line, not a seasonal wave.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmoderatebrightintenseMar 65.8 kWhJul 254.3 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan5.2Bright
Feb5.6Bright
Mar5.7Bright
Apr5.5Bright
May5.0Bright
Jun4.6Bright
Jul4.4Bright
Aug4.7Bright
Sep5.2Bright
Oct5.3Bright
Nov5.3Bright
Dec5.1Bright

Where is Bonga?

Bonga sits at 7.3°N, 36.2°E, 1,673 m above sea level, in Ethiopia. The nearest listed city is Wacha, 49 km away.

Tarch’a SodoWaka

Topography around Bonga

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Bonga has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 319 m around an average of 1,684 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,184 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,802 m.

The land around Bonga is covered by trees (78%) within 3 km, trees (64%) within 16 km, and trees (59%) within 80 km.

3 km
319 m
16 km
1,184 m
80 km
2,802 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswetland
Nearby: Wacha 49 km · Āgaro 77 km · Jimma 78 km · Mīzan Teferī 79 km · Komtikas 84 km · Tēpī 88 km · Tarch’a Sodo 104 km · Waka 105 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 Bonga (7.2889°, 36.2417°, elevation 1,673 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).