Climate and average weather in Douentza

In Douentza, the summers are sweltering, dry, and mostly clear and the winters are hot and mostly clear.

Best: early January to early February

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Douentza typically varies from 15°C to 40°C, and is rarely below 12°C or above 42°C. May is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Douentza for warm-weather activities are from early January to early February and mid December to late December.

Hottest
May
40°
Coldest
Jan
15°
Wettest
Aug
131 mm
Driest
Feb
0 mm
Rain / yr
317 mm
57 wet days
Daylight
11.1–12.9 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
307 m
15.0°N
Clearest
Feb
28% cloud

Douentza 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 February.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 3.1 months, from March 26 to June 28, with daily high temperatures above 37°C. The hottest month of the year in Douentza is May, with an average high of 40°C and low of 28°C.

The cool season lasts 1.8 months, from December 11 to February 3, with daily high temperatures below 31°C. The coldest month of the year in Douentza is January, with an average low of 15°C and high of 29°C.

Days typically run about 12°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 14°C) in March.

10°20°30°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2915
Feb3218
Mar3622
Apr3926
May4028
Jun3828
Jul3526
Aug3324
Sep3425
Oct3624
Nov3420
Dec3016

How hot and cold Douentza really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

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, Douentza feels like about 40°C (around June 14). About 291 days a year carry some heat stress, and 89 of them tip into dangerous heat (feels-like above 39°C), peaking in June.

15°20°25°30°35°40°45°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdangerous heat
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan29291515
Feb32321818
Mar36362222
Apr39392626
May40402828
Jun40382828
Jul38352626
Aug37332424
Sep38342525
Oct37362424
Nov34342020
Dec30301616

Average hourly temperature in Douentza

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 May afternoons, near 40°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near 15°C.

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

Douentza 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
Jan29° / 15°10.111.27.2
Feb32° / 18°0011.55.2
Mar36° / 22°00.111.92.6
Apr39° / 26°2112.30.5
May40° / 28°62.412.70.0
Jun38° / 28°217.712.90.9
Jul35° / 26°9315.512.82.2
Aug33° / 24°13117.212.53.1
Sep34° / 25°5210.412.12.8
Oct36° / 24°102.511.72.2
Nov34° / 20°10.111.33.8
Dec30° / 16°0011.16.3

Chance of rain

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

Douentza gets about 317 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is some rain, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 4.1 months, from around Jun 2 to Oct 3, peaking in August at about 59% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jan 1.

August is the wettest month by volume, with 131 mm over about 17 wet days; February is the driest, with 0 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetAug 3 · 59%Jan 1 · 0%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan00
Feb00
Mar00
Apr31
May82
Jun258
Jul5016
Aug5517
Sep3510
Oct83
Nov00
Dec00

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Douentza collects about 317 mm of rain across 57 wet days — roughly 26 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 131 mm, while February is the driest at just 0 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 87% of the year’s total.

0255075100125150175JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec100262193131521010
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan10
Feb00
Mar00
Apr21
May62
Jun218
Jul9316
Aug13117
Sep5210
Oct103
Nov10
Dec00

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Douentza, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around June 3 and lasts for 1.4 months, ending around July 15. The clearest month is February, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 79% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around July 16 and lasts for 2.1 months, ending around September 16. The cloudiest month is August, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 43% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJun 25 · 83%Aug 26 · 56%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan7327
Feb7921
Mar7624
Apr6931
May6634
Jun7921
Jul7129
Aug5743
Sep6931
Oct7525
Nov7228
Dec7129

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 June 6, brings about 12 h 54 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 11 h 06 min — a swing of roughly 1 h 48 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan11.26:455:57
Feb11.56:416:11
Mar11.96:256:18
Apr12.36:026:22
May12.75:476:29
Jun12.95:466:39
Jul12.85:536:42
Aug12.56:016:31
Sep12.16:046:09
Oct11.76:075:47
Nov11.36:185:36
Dec11.16:355:41

Sunny days

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

Douentza averages about 17 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 9 and 22 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.7 months, from around Sep 27 to Apr 17. The sunniest month is February, with roughly 21 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is August, down near 10 sunny days — about 53% fewer than the February peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightbrilliantFeb 2522 daysAug 129 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan19Bright
Feb19Bright
Mar20Bright
Apr16Bright
May15Mixed
Jun19Bright
Jul15Mixed
Aug10Mixed
Sep14Mixed
Oct18Bright
Nov17Bright
Dec18Bright

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

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.8 months, from around May 24 to October 16. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 99% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 17 to May 23, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 17 · 100%Jul 20 · 0%muggyoppressivecomfortabledryhumidcomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan1000000
Feb991000
Mar982000
Apr859420
May49222180
Jun71335414
Jul0174448
Aug0001090
Sep23113451
Oct421720184
Nov953110
Dec1000000

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.

Across the year, average wind speed in Douentza is typically calm, near 10 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 4.6 months, from around Nov 27 to Apr 15. The windiest month is February, averaging about 12 km/h (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Jul 23 to Nov 26, with September the calmest month at about 8 km/h.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeFeb 12 · 12 km/hSep 11 · 8 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan11calm
Feb12calm
Mar11calm
Apr10calm
May10calm
Jun11calm
Jul10calm
Aug9calm
Sep8calm
Oct9calm
Nov10calm
Dec11calm

Hazard calendar for Douentza

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Douentza sees dust haze year-round, heaviest in May.

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

Best time to visit Douentza

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

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

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJan 9 · 7.4

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
Jan7.1good
Feb5.2fair
Mar2.6poor
Apr0.5poor
May0.0poor
Jun0.9poor
Jul2.2poor
Aug3.1poor
Sep2.8poor
Oct2.3poor
Nov3.8fair
Dec6.3good

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 Douentza for hot-weather activities is from mid November to early March, with a peak score in the last week of December.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationDec 28 · 9.0

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 Douentza, 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.

For a warm-season trip around May (highs near 40°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 29°C), pack light clothes and sun protection.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In May, Douentza sees daytime highs around 40°C and nights near 28°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

UV index (midday) in Douentza 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 Douentza peaks around August 20 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 8 (very high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecVery highExtremeVery highAug 20UV 13Dec 17UV 8
UV index (midday)Level
Jan9Very high
Feb11Extreme
Mar13Extreme
Apr11Extreme
May11Extreme
Jun11Extreme
Jul10Extreme
Aug13Extreme
Sep12Extreme
Oct11Extreme
Nov9Very high
Dec8Very high

Average hourly UV index in Douentza

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 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6 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)
Jan6.54
Feb7.55
Mar86
Apr86
May85.5
Jun85.5
Jul85.5
Aug8.56.5
Sep86
Oct7.55
Nov74.5
Dec63.5

Air quality in Douentza 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 Douentza is worst in February — around 72 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 4.5× the cleanest month (August, 16 µg/m³).

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

020406080JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyPoorModeratePoorFeb 1872 µg/m³Aug 2117 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan67Unhealthy
Feb72Unhealthy
Mar70Unhealthy
Apr57Unhealthy
May51Poor
Jun44Poor
Jul27Moderate
Aug16Moderate
Sep19Moderate
Oct33Moderate
Nov39Poor
Dec56Unhealthy
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Douentza 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. Douentza banks about 6,834 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around May.

02,0004,0006,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan376
Feb420
Mar584
Apr674
May743
Jun690
Jul629
Aug572
Sep587
Oct631
Nov514
Dec413

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.

Douentza receives about 6.3 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — intense — with a clear seasonal swing between 5.4 and 7.1 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 5.1 months, from around Feb 22 to Jul 27. The brightest month is April, averaging about 7.1 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 5.4 kWh/m² — roughly 23% less than the April peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseApr 157.1 kWhDec 185.4 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan5.5Bright
Feb6.2Intense
Mar6.8Intense
Apr7.1Intense
May7.0Intense
Jun6.8Intense
Jul6.5Intense
Aug6.2Intense
Sep6.4Intense
Oct6.2Intense
Nov5.9Bright
Dec5.4Bright

Where is Douentza?

Douentza sits at 15.0°N, 3.0°W, 307 m above sea level, in Mali. The nearest listed city is Bandiagara, 102 km away.

BandiagaraKoroBankassMoptiDiréTitaoOuahigouyaGoundam

Topography around Douentza

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Douentza has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 161 m around an average of 298 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 694 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 795 m.

The land around Douentza is covered by grassland (40%) and cropland (30%) within 3 km, grassland (62%) within 16 km, and grassland (70%) within 80 km.

3 km
161 m
16 km
694 m
80 km
795 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
Nearby: Bandiagara 102 km · Koro 106 km · Bankass 120 km · Mopti 145 km · Diré 147 km · Titao 168 km · Ouahigouya 169 km · Goundam 174 km

Mali travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 4
Do Not Travel
Power plugs
Type C / E
220 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 34% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$1,193
2025
Happiness
4.6 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Road deaths
22.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Low
World Bank
English
Very low
EF EPI 408
Religion
Muslim 94%Christian 3%none 3%animist 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 Douentza (15.0061°, -2.9517°, elevation 307 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).