Climate and average weather in Gilgil

In Gilgil, 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 November.

Best: early January to early April

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Gilgil typically varies from 11°C to 26°C, and is rarely below 9°C or above 29°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 Gilgil for warm-weather activities are from early January to early April and early September to mid October.

Hottest
Feb
26°
Coldest
Jul
12°
Wettest
Nov
163 mm
Driest
Feb
31 mm
Rain / yr
979 mm
136 wet days
Daylight
12.0–12.0 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
2,009 m
0.5°S
Clearest
Feb
58% cloud

Gilgil 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 January to early April.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

Temperatures in Gilgil 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 11°C; the coolest is July, with an average low of 12°C and high of 20°C.

Days typically run about 11°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 14°C) in February.

10°15°20°25°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2411
Feb2611
Mar2612
Apr2313
May2213
Jun2112
Jul2012
Aug2111
Sep2211
Oct2312
Nov2213
Dec2312

Average hourly temperature in Gilgil

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 12°C.

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

Gilgil 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
Jan24° / 11°465.9127.5
Feb26° / 11°313.9127.5
Mar26° / 12°788.8126.9
Apr23° / 13°15216.8125.6
May22° / 13°9113.3126.1
Jun21° / 12°7012.8125.9
Jul20° / 12°5011.6125.9
Aug21° / 11°5912125.9
Sep22° / 11°5910.2126.6
Oct23° / 12°9512.3126.2
Nov22° / 13°16318.4125.2
Dec23° / 12°8510.2126.7

Chance of rain

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

Gilgil gets about 979 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 1.8 months, from around Mar 26 to May 18, peaking in April at about 63% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Feb 4.

November is the wettest month by volume, with 163 mm over about 18 wet days; February is the driest, with 31 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetApr 28 · 63%Feb 4 · 14%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan196
Feb154
Mar289
Apr5617
May4413
Jun4113
Jul3812
Aug4012
Sep3410
Oct4112
Nov5918
Dec3310

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Gilgil collects about 979 mm of rain across 136 wet days — roughly 82 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. November is the wettest month with 163 mm, while February is the driest at just 31 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 42% of the year’s total.

0255075100125150175200JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec46317815291705059599516385
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan466
Feb314
Mar789
Apr15217
May9113
Jun7013
Jul5012
Aug5912
Sep5910
Oct9512
Nov16318
Dec8510

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Gilgil, 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 December 6 and lasts for 3.8 months, ending around March 30. The clearest month is February, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 54% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around June 8 and lasts for 2.8 months, ending around September 1. The cloudiest month is July, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 77% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecFeb 27 · 56%Jul 27 · 21%mostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan5050
Feb5446
Mar4852
Apr3169
May4060
Jun3268
Jul2377
Aug2971
Sep4753
Oct3466
Nov2575
Dec4357

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. Close to the equator, Gilgil barely changes through the year: days stay near 12 hours of light in every season.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan12.06:436:45
Feb12.06:496:50
Mar12.06:446:44
Apr12.06:356:35
May12.06:326:30
Jun12.06:366:34
Jul12.06:416:40
Aug12.06:396:38
Sep12.06:296:29
Oct12.06:196:20
Nov12.06:196:21
Dec12.06:306:32

Sunny days

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

Gilgil averages about 4 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 1 and 8 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.6 months, from around Dec 12 to Apr 1. The sunniest month is March, with roughly 7 sunny days (gloomy).

The greyest month is July, down near 2 sunny days — about 77% fewer than the March peak.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyergloomymixedMar 38 daysJul 301 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan6Gloomy
Feb7Gloomy
Mar7Gloomy
Apr2Gloomy
May3Gloomy
Jun2Gloomy
Jul2Gloomy
Aug2Gloomy
Sep5Gloomy
Oct3Gloomy
Nov2Gloomy
Dec4Gloomy

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 Gilgil, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in January, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 0% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccomfortabledry
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)
Jan919
Feb946
Mar8614
Apr5644
May6139
Jun8317
Jul982
Aug973
Sep964
Oct8812
Nov7822
Dec8614

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 Gilgil is steady company: average speeds sit near 5 km/hcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmMay 20 · 7 km/hNov 22 · 4 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan5calm
Feb5calm
Mar5calm
Apr5calm
May6calm
Jun6calm
Jul6calm
Aug6calm
Sep6calm
Oct5calm
Nov4calm
Dec5calm

Best time to visit Gilgil

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late March, Gilgil 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 Gilgil for general outdoor tourist activities run from early September to mid October and again from early December to early April, with a peak score in the last week of January.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJan 30 · 7.6

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
Jan7.5good
Feb7.4good
Mar6.9good
Apr5.6good
May6.1good
Jun5.9good
Jul5.9good
Aug5.9good
Sep6.6good
Oct6.2good
Nov5.3fair
Dec6.7good

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 Gilgil for hot-weather activities is from late December to late March, with a peak score in the last week of February.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationFeb 23 · 7.1

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 Gilgil, 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.

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

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In February, Gilgil sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 11°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: light clothes. About 4 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Gilgil 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 Gilgil peaks around March 16 at about 17 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 19 at about 11 (extreme).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeMar 16UV 17Jun 19UV 11
UV index (midday)Level
Jan16Extreme
Feb16Extreme
Mar17Extreme
Apr16Extreme
May13Extreme
Jun11Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug13Extreme
Sep14Extreme
Oct15Extreme
Nov14Extreme
Dec13Extreme

Average hourly UV index in Gilgil

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 7 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)
Jan8.57
Feb8.57
Mar8.57
Apr8.56.5
May86
Jun7.55.5
Jul7.55.5
Aug86
Sep8.56.5
Oct86.5
Nov86.5
Dec86.5

Air quality in Gilgil 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 Gilgil is worst in June — around 47 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

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

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecPoorJun 2047 µg/m³Oct 936 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan43Poor
Feb41Poor
Mar42Poor
Apr39Poor
May40Poor
Jun47Poor
Jul45Poor
Aug39Poor
Sep37Poor
Oct36Poor
Nov42Poor
Dec44Poor
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Gilgil 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. Gilgil banks about 2,701 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)
Jan245
Feb241
Mar278
Apr250
May236
Jun201
Jul184
Aug188
Sep200
Oct227
Nov219
Dec231

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.

Gilgil receives about 5.8 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.7 and 7.0 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 4.1 months, from around Dec 12 to Apr 14. The brightest month is February, averaging about 6.9 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is July, down near 4.7 kWh/m² — roughly 31% less than the February peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseFeb 287.0 kWhJul 234.7 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan6.4Intense
Feb7.0Intense
Mar6.7Intense
Apr5.7Bright
May5.5Bright
Jun5.0Bright
Jul4.7Bright
Aug5.1Bright
Sep6.0Intense
Oct6.0Bright
Nov5.5Bright
Dec5.8Bright

Where is Gilgil?

Gilgil sits at 0.5°S, 36.3°E, 2,009 m above sea level, in Kenya. The nearest listed city is Naivasha, 27 km away.

Topography around Gilgil

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Gilgil has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 164 m around an average of 1,991 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 881 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,992 m.

The land around Gilgil is covered by grassland (57%) and artificial surfaces (21%) within 3 km, grassland (48%) and shrubs (20%) within 16 km, and trees (28%), grassland (28%) and cropland (24%) within 80 km.

3 km
164 m
16 km
881 m
80 km
2,992 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Naivasha 27 km · Ol Kalou 27 km · Upper Gilgil 33 km · Nakuru 35 km · Njoro 46 km · Mairo Inya 60 km · Nyahururu 60 km · Mai 61 km

Kenya travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type G
240 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 34% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$2,363
2025
Happiness
4.7 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Homicide rate
4.9
per 100k, 2022
Road deaths
28.3
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Lower middle
World Bank
English
High
EF EPI 593
Religion
Christian 86%Muslim 11%other 2%none 2%

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 Gilgil (-0.504°, 36.3184°, elevation 2,009 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).