Dire Dawa in Spring

In spring (March, April and May), Dire Dawa sees average daytime highs around 26°C and overnight lows near 16°C, with 344 mm of rain over about 36 wet days across the season. It is the warmest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.

Across spring, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 26°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 33% of the time across spring, and the air most often feels comfortable.

Spring is Dire Dawa's 3rd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Dire Dawa's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
26°C
warmest season of the year
Avg overnight low
16°C
Rainfall
344 mm
36 wet days
Avg wind
7 km/h
Travel score
6.4
3rd-best season
Months
Mar · Apr · May

Temperature in Dire Dawa in Spring

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across spring, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 26°C.

A typical spring day in Dire Dawa reaches about 26°C and drops to 16°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is May, the coolest March.

10°15°20°25°30°MarAprMay

Dire Dawa 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
Jan24° / 12°244.311.58.3
Feb25° / 14°304.211.78.0
Mar26° / 15°951011.96.9
Apr26° / 16°15314.312.26.0
May27° / 17°9511.512.46.4
Jun27° / 17°308.412.56.9
Jul26° / 16°9218.912.55.6
Aug25° / 16°12722.412.35.2
Sep25° / 16°1101712.15.9
Oct25° / 15°74811.87.4
Nov24° / 13°364.311.68.4
Dec23° / 12°203.111.58.5

Cloud cover in Spring

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 33% of the time across spring.

0%25%50%75%100%MarAprMay

Chance of precipitation in Spring

Any precipitation

Dire Dawa gets around 344 mm of rain over 36 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 comfortable — 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 5.9 kWh/m².

0246MarAprMay
Planning a trip in spring

Hazard calendar for Dire Dawa

In seasonPeak

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

Dire Dawa sees seasonal dust haze (June–July), heaviest in July.

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

Is spring a good time to visit Dire Dawa?

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.

6.4
Sightseeing
3rd-best month of the year
6.3
Beach & pool
3rd-best month of the year

spring is a reasonable time to visit Dire Dawa for sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Dire Dawa in Spring

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

In spring, Dire Dawa sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 16°C. Pack rain gear and sun protection. Worth having: light clothes. About 36 days see rain.

rain gearsun protectionlight clothes

UV index in Dire Dawa in Spring

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across spring averages around 14 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Dire Dawa peaks around March 21 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 10 at about 10 (extreme).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeMar 21UV 15Dec 10UV 10
UV index (midday)Level
Jan12Extreme
Feb14Extreme
Mar15Extreme
Apr15Extreme
May12Extreme
Jun12Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug13Extreme
Sep13Extreme
Oct13Extreme
Nov11Extreme
Dec10Extreme

Air quality in Dire Dawa 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 Dire Dawa is worst in June — around 30 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

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

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateJun 1929 µg/m³Dec 1021 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan22Moderate
Feb24Moderate
Mar24Moderate
Apr21Moderate
May25Moderate
Jun30Moderate
Jul28Moderate
Aug22Moderate
Sep26Moderate
Oct24Moderate
Nov21Moderate
Dec21Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Dire Dawa?

Dire Dawa sits at 9.6°N, 41.9°E, 1,204 m above sea level, in Ethiopia. The nearest listed city is ‘Alemaya, 27 km away.

Topography around Dire Dawa

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Dire Dawa has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 322 m around an average of 1,233 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,339 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,714 m.

The land around Dire Dawa is covered by shrubs (49%) and artificial surfaces (36%) within 3 km, shrubs (72%) within 16 km, and shrubs (44%) and grassland (22%) within 80 km.

3 km
322 m
16 km
1,339 m
80 km
2,714 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwetland
Spring weather nearby: ‘Alemaya 27 km · Felana 38 km · Chelenko 40 km · Harar 42 km · Funyan Bīra 54 km · Deder 56 km · Babīlē 65 km · Ārabī 80 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 Dire Dawa (9.5931°, 41.8661°, elevation 1,204 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.