Climate and average weather in Gambēla
In Gambēla, the summers are sweltering, dry, and mostly clear and the winters are hot and mostly cloudy.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Gambēla typically varies from 22°C to 38°C, and is rarely below 21°C or above 40°C. February is the hottest month of the year, while July is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Gambēla for warm-weather activities are from early June to late September and mid November to mid December.
- Hottest
- Feb
- 38°
- Coldest
- Jul
- 22°
- Wettest
- May
- 136 mm
- Driest
- Jan
- 1 mm
- Rain / yr
- 870 mm
- 139 wet days
- Daylight
- 11.5–12.5 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 439 m
- 8.3°N
- Clearest
- Dec
- 37% cloud
Gambēla is city in Ethiopia.
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Gambēla 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 June to late September.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Gambēla, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
The hot season lasts 2.9 months, from January 12 to April 10, with daily high temperatures above 36°C. The hottest month of the year in Gambēla is February, with an average high of 38°C and low of 24°C.
The cool season lasts 2.9 months, from June 12 to September 6, with daily high temperatures below 31°C. The coldest month of the year in Gambēla is July, with an average low of 22°C and high of 29°C.
Days typically run about 10°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 13°C) in February.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 36 | 38 | 37 | 35 | 32 | 31 | 29 | 30 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 34 |
| Avg low (°C) | 23 | 24 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 22 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 23 |
| Feb | 38 | 24 |
| Mar | 37 | 26 |
| Apr | 35 | 25 |
| May | 32 | 24 |
| Jun | 31 | 23 |
| Jul | 29 | 22 |
| Aug | 30 | 22 |
| Sep | 32 | 23 |
| Oct | 32 | 23 |
| Nov | 32 | 22 |
| Dec | 34 | 22 |
How hot and cold Gambēla really feels
The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.
On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Gambēla feels like about 38°C (around February 20). About 292 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in February.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | 36 | 38 | 38 | 37 | 35 | 32 | 31 | 31 | 33 | 34 | 34 | 34 |
| Air high (°C) | 36 | 38 | 37 | 35 | 32 | 31 | 29 | 30 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 34 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | 23 | 24 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 22 |
| Air low (°C) | 23 | 24 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 22 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 36 | 23 | 23 |
| Feb | 38 | 38 | 24 | 24 |
| Mar | 38 | 37 | 26 | 26 |
| Apr | 37 | 35 | 25 | 25 |
| May | 35 | 32 | 24 | 24 |
| Jun | 32 | 31 | 23 | 23 |
| Jul | 31 | 29 | 22 | 22 |
| Aug | 31 | 30 | 22 | 22 |
| Sep | 33 | 32 | 23 | 23 |
| Oct | 34 | 32 | 23 | 23 |
| Nov | 34 | 32 | 22 | 22 |
| Dec | 34 | 34 | 22 | 22 |
Average hourly temperature in Gambēla
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 38°C, and coldest before dawn in July, near 22°C.
Gambēla 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 | 36° / 23° | 1 | 0.4 | 11.6 | 2.5 |
| Feb | 38° / 24° | 3 | 1 | 11.7 | 1.5 |
| Mar | 37° / 26° | 16 | 4.7 | 11.9 | 1.5 |
| Apr | 35° / 25° | 93 | 14.6 | 12.2 | 2.1 |
| May | 32° / 24° | 136 | 20.1 | 12.4 | 2.9 |
| Jun | 31° / 23° | 128 | 16.3 | 12.5 | 3.9 |
| Jul | 29° / 22° | 119 | 16.7 | 12.4 | 4.3 |
| Aug | 30° / 22° | 105 | 16.7 | 12.3 | 4.2 |
| Sep | 32° / 23° | 74 | 13.4 | 12 | 3.8 |
| Oct | 32° / 23° | 112 | 19.5 | 11.8 | 3.1 |
| Nov | 32° / 22° | 74 | 13.2 | 11.6 | 3.5 |
| Dec | 34° / 22° | 9 | 2.2 | 11.5 | 3.5 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Gambēla gets about 870 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 7.4 months, from around Apr 8 to Nov 19, peaking in May at about 69% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jan 15.
May is the wettest month by volume, with 136 mm over about 20 wet days; January is the driest, with 1 mm.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 1 | 3 | 17 | 48 | 64 | 54 | 54 | 54 | 46 | 62 | 43 | 8 |
| Rain days | 0 | 1 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 20 | 13 | 2 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | 0 |
| Feb | 3 | 1 |
| Mar | 17 | 5 |
| Apr | 48 | 15 |
| May | 64 | 20 |
| Jun | 54 | 16 |
| Jul | 54 | 17 |
| Aug | 54 | 17 |
| Sep | 46 | 13 |
| Oct | 62 | 20 |
| Nov | 43 | 13 |
| Dec | 8 | 2 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Gambēla collects about 870 mm of rain across 139 wet days — roughly 72 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. May is the wettest month with 136 mm, while January is the driest at just 1 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 44% of the year’s total.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 1 | 3 | 16 | 93 | 136 | 128 | 119 | 105 | 74 | 112 | 74 | 9 |
| Rain days | 0 | 1 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 20 | 13 | 2 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | 0 |
| Feb | 3 | 1 |
| Mar | 16 | 5 |
| Apr | 93 | 15 |
| May | 136 | 20 |
| Jun | 128 | 16 |
| Jul | 119 | 17 |
| Aug | 105 | 17 |
| Sep | 74 | 13 |
| Oct | 112 | 20 |
| Nov | 74 | 13 |
| Dec | 9 | 2 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Gambēla, 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 November 3 and lasts for 5.0 months, ending around April 4. The clearest month is December, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 80% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around April 5 and lasts for 7.0 months, ending around November 2. The cloudiest month is July, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 71% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 73 | 74 | 64 | 40 | 32 | 37 | 29 | 33 | 48 | 45 | 63 | 80 |
| Cloudier (%) | 27 | 26 | 36 | 60 | 68 | 63 | 71 | 67 | 52 | 55 | 37 | 20 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 73 | 27 |
| Feb | 74 | 26 |
| Mar | 64 | 36 |
| Apr | 40 | 60 |
| May | 32 | 68 |
| Jun | 37 | 63 |
| Jul | 29 | 71 |
| Aug | 33 | 67 |
| Sep | 48 | 52 |
| Oct | 45 | 55 |
| Nov | 63 | 37 |
| Dec | 80 | 20 |
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 30 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 11 h 30 min — a swing of roughly 1 hour.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 11.6 | 11.7 | 11.9 | 12.2 | 12.4 | 12.5 | 12.4 | 12.3 | 12.0 | 11.8 | 11.6 | 11.5 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 7:04 | 7:04 | 6:53 | 6:36 | 6:27 | 6:28 | 6:34 | 6:38 | 6:35 | 6:32 | 6:38 | 6:52 |
| Sunset (PM) | 6:38 | 6:48 | 6:50 | 6:47 | 6:49 | 6:56 | 7:00 | 6:54 | 6:37 | 6:21 | 6:15 | 6:23 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11.6 | 7:04 | 6:38 |
| Feb | 11.7 | 7:04 | 6:48 |
| Mar | 11.9 | 6:53 | 6:50 |
| Apr | 12.2 | 6:36 | 6:47 |
| May | 12.4 | 6:27 | 6:49 |
| Jun | 12.5 | 6:28 | 6:56 |
| Jul | 12.4 | 6:34 | 7:00 |
| Aug | 12.3 | 6:38 | 6:54 |
| Sep | 12.0 | 6:35 | 6:37 |
| Oct | 11.8 | 6:32 | 6:21 |
| Nov | 11.6 | 6:38 | 6:15 |
| Dec | 11.5 | 6:52 | 6:23 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Gambēla averages about 8 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 1 and 20 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 4.9 months, from around Nov 5 to Apr 3. The sunniest month is December, with roughly 19 sunny days (bright).
The greyest month is July, down near 2 sunny days — about 92% fewer than the December peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 17 | 15 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 19 |
| Sky | Bright | Bright | Mixed | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Mixed | Bright |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17 | Bright |
| Feb | 15 | Bright |
| Mar | 12 | Mixed |
| Apr | 5 | Gloomy |
| May | 3 | Gloomy |
| Jun | 3 | Gloomy |
| Jul | 2 | Gloomy |
| Aug | 2 | Gloomy |
| Sep | 3 | Gloomy |
| Oct | 5 | Gloomy |
| Nov | 11 | Mixed |
| Dec | 19 | Bright |
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 Gambēla, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.
The more humid part of the year lasts 8.1 months, from around April 4 to December 5. The muggiest month is May, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 100% of the time.
The most comfortable stretch runs from around December 6 to April 3, and February is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 88% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 54 | 63 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 |
| Comfortable (%) | 32 | 25 | 29 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 28 |
| Humid (%) | 12 | 11 | 33 | 26 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 11 | 23 | 36 |
| Muggy (%) | 2 | 1 | 13 | 58 | 80 | 86 | 90 | 90 | 80 | 83 | 64 | 20 |
| Oppressive (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Dry (%) | Comfortable (%) | Humid (%) | Muggy (%) | Oppressive (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 54 | 32 | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| Feb | 63 | 25 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| Mar | 26 | 29 | 33 | 13 | 0 |
| Apr | 2 | 8 | 26 | 58 | 7 |
| May | 0 | 0 | 3 | 80 | 17 |
| Jun | 0 | 0 | 8 | 86 | 5 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 | 9 | 90 | 1 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 | 9 | 90 | 1 |
| Sep | 0 | 1 | 18 | 80 | 1 |
| Oct | 0 | 0 | 11 | 83 | 6 |
| Nov | 1 | 5 | 23 | 64 | 6 |
| Dec | 16 | 28 | 36 | 20 | 0 |
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 Gambēla is steady company: average speeds sit near 5 km/h — calm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Feels | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5 | calm |
| Feb | 6 | calm |
| Mar | 6 | calm |
| Apr | 5 | calm |
| May | 5 | calm |
| Jun | 5 | calm |
| Jul | 5 | calm |
| Aug | 5 | calm |
| Sep | 5 | calm |
| Oct | 4 | calm |
| Nov | 5 | calm |
| Dec | 5 | calm |
Hazard calendar for Gambēla
When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.
Gambēla's rainy season runs April–November, when most of the year's rain falls.
Best time to visit Gambēla
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Gambēla throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around mid September, Gambēla 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 Gambēla for general outdoor tourist activities run from early June to late September and again from mid November to late December, with a peak score in the last week of July.
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) | 2.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Rating | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | fair | fair | fair | fair | poor | fair | fair |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2.5 | poor |
| Feb | 1.5 | poor |
| Mar | 1.5 | poor |
| Apr | 2.1 | poor |
| May | 2.9 | poor |
| Jun | 3.9 | fair |
| Jul | 4.3 | fair |
| Aug | 4.2 | fair |
| Sep | 3.8 | fair |
| Oct | 3.2 | poor |
| Nov | 3.5 | fair |
| Dec | 3.5 | fair |
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 Gambēla for hot-weather activities run from early September to late September and again from mid November to late January, with a peak score in the second week of December.
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 Gambēla, 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 February (highs near 38°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around July (highs near 29°C), pack light clothes, rain gear and sun protection.
In February, Gambēla sees daytime highs around 38°C and nights near 24°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection.
UV index (midday) in Gambēla 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 Gambēla peaks around March 19 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 17 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) | 9 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 9 |
| Level | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | Very high |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | Very high |
| Feb | 11 | Extreme |
| Mar | 14 | Extreme |
| Apr | 12 | Extreme |
| May | 11 | Extreme |
| Jun | 11 | Extreme |
| Jul | 11 | Extreme |
| Aug | 13 | Extreme |
| Sep | 12 | Extreme |
| Oct | 12 | Extreme |
| Nov | 9 | Very high |
| Dec | 9 | Very high |
Average hourly UV index in Gambēla
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 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6 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 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7 | 6.5 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 4.5 | 5.5 | 6 | 6 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 6 | 6.5 | 6 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 4 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | 4.5 |
| Feb | 7.5 | 5.5 |
| Mar | 8 | 6 |
| Apr | 8 | 6 |
| May | 8 | 5.5 |
| Jun | 8 | 5.5 |
| Jul | 8 | 6 |
| Aug | 8 | 6.5 |
| Sep | 7.5 | 6 |
| Oct | 7.5 | 5.5 |
| Nov | 7 | 4.5 |
| Dec | 6.5 | 4 |
Air quality in Gambēla 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 Gambēla is worst in January — around 98 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 7.2× the cleanest month (May, 14 µg/m³).
Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 98 | 78 | 42 | 21 | 14 | 20 | 22 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 36 | 84 |
| Level | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Poor | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Poor | Unhealthy |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 98 | Unhealthy |
| Feb | 78 | Unhealthy |
| Mar | 42 | Poor |
| Apr | 21 | Moderate |
| May | 14 | Moderate |
| Jun | 20 | Moderate |
| Jul | 22 | Moderate |
| Aug | 17 | Moderate |
| Sep | 16 | Moderate |
| Oct | 16 | Moderate |
| Nov | 36 | Poor |
| Dec | 84 | Unhealthy |
Growing season
Gambēla 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. Gambēla banks about 6,616 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around March.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 605 | 587 | 665 | 599 | 557 | 498 | 485 | 490 | 512 | 536 | 517 | 566 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 605 |
| Feb | 587 |
| Mar | 665 |
| Apr | 599 |
| May | 557 |
| Jun | 498 |
| Jul | 485 |
| Aug | 490 |
| Sep | 512 |
| Oct | 536 |
| Nov | 517 |
| Dec | 566 |
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.
Gambēla receives about 5.4 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.6 and 6.2 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 4.1 months, from around Dec 28 to May 2. The brightest month is March, averaging about 6.1 kWh/m² (intense).
The dimmest month is July, down near 4.7 kWh/m² — roughly 24% less than the March peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 5.6 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 5.8 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| Level | Bright | Intense | Intense | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5.6 | Bright |
| Feb | 6.0 | Intense |
| Mar | 6.2 | Intense |
| Apr | 5.8 | Bright |
| May | 5.3 | Bright |
| Jun | 4.8 | Bright |
| Jul | 4.7 | Bright |
| Aug | 5.0 | Bright |
| Sep | 5.5 | Bright |
| Oct | 5.4 | Bright |
| Nov | 5.3 | Bright |
| Dec | 5.3 | Bright |
Where is Gambēla?
Gambēla sits at 8.3°N, 34.6°E, 439 m above sea level, in Ethiopia. The nearest listed city is Dembī Dolo, 40 km away.
Topography around Gambēla
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Gambēla.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Gambēla has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 98 m around an average of 454 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 857 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,842 m.
The land around Gambēla is covered by grassland (44%) and trees (33%) within 3 km, trees (47%) and grassland (46%) within 16 km, and trees (54%) and grassland (35%) within 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
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 Gambēla (8.25°, 34.5833°, elevation 439 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).