Climate and average weather in Timbuktu
In Timbuktu, the summers are sweltering, dry, and mostly clear and the winters are hot and mostly clear.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Timbuktu typically varies from 15°C to 41°C, and is rarely below 11°C or above 44°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 Timbuktu for warm-weather activities are from early January to early February and mid December to late December.
- Hottest
- May
- 41°
- Coldest
- Jan
- 15°
- Wettest
- Aug
- 47 mm
- Driest
- Feb
- 0 mm
- Rain / yr
- 100 mm
- 22 wet days
- Daylight
- 11.0–13.0 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 274 m
- 16.8°N
- Clearest
- Jun
- 27% cloud
Timbuktu is city in Mali.
- Founded
- ~450 BCE
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Timbuktu 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
Daily average highs and lows in Timbuktu, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
The hot season lasts 3.6 months, from April 3 to July 19, with daily high temperatures above 38°C. The hottest month of the year in Timbuktu is May, with an average high of 41°C and low of 28°C.
The cool season lasts 2.0 months, from December 8 to February 7, with daily high temperatures below 30°C. The coldest month of the year in Timbuktu is January, with an average low of 15°C and high of 28°C.
Days typically run about 12°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 14°C) in March.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 28 | 31 | 35 | 39 | 41 | 41 | 38 | 37 | 38 | 38 | 34 | 30 |
| Avg low (°C) | 15 | 17 | 21 | 25 | 28 | 30 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 25 | 20 | 16 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 15 |
| Feb | 31 | 17 |
| Mar | 35 | 21 |
| Apr | 39 | 25 |
| May | 41 | 28 |
| Jun | 41 | 30 |
| Jul | 38 | 28 |
| Aug | 37 | 27 |
| Sep | 38 | 27 |
| Oct | 38 | 25 |
| Nov | 34 | 20 |
| Dec | 30 | 16 |
How hot and cold Timbuktu 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, Timbuktu feels like about 41°C (around May 21). About 282 days a year carry some heat stress, and 161 of them tip into dangerous heat (feels-like above 39°C), peaking in May.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | 28 | 31 | 35 | 39 | 41 | 41 | 41 | 40 | 39 | 38 | 34 | 30 |
| Air high (°C) | 28 | 31 | 35 | 39 | 41 | 41 | 38 | 37 | 38 | 38 | 34 | 30 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | 15 | 17 | 21 | 25 | 28 | 30 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 25 | 20 | 16 |
| Air low (°C) | 15 | 17 | 21 | 25 | 28 | 30 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 25 | 20 | 16 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 28 | 15 | 15 |
| Feb | 31 | 31 | 17 | 17 |
| Mar | 35 | 35 | 21 | 21 |
| Apr | 39 | 39 | 25 | 25 |
| May | 41 | 41 | 28 | 28 |
| Jun | 41 | 41 | 30 | 30 |
| Jul | 41 | 38 | 28 | 28 |
| Aug | 40 | 37 | 27 | 27 |
| Sep | 39 | 38 | 27 | 27 |
| Oct | 38 | 38 | 25 | 25 |
| Nov | 34 | 34 | 20 | 20 |
| Dec | 30 | 30 | 16 | 16 |
Average hourly temperature in Timbuktu
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 41°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near 15°C.
Timbuktu 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 | 28° / 15° | 1 | 0.1 | 11.1 | 7.8 |
| Feb | 31° / 17° | 0 | 0 | 11.4 | 5.7 |
| Mar | 35° / 21° | 0 | 0.1 | 11.9 | 3.1 |
| Apr | 39° / 25° | 0 | 0.1 | 12.4 | 0.6 |
| May | 41° / 28° | 2 | 0.6 | 12.8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 41° / 30° | 5 | 2.2 | 13 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 38° / 28° | 25 | 5.5 | 12.9 | 1.0 |
| Aug | 37° / 27° | 47 | 8.8 | 12.6 | 1.9 |
| Sep | 38° / 27° | 16 | 3.7 | 12.1 | 1.3 |
| Oct | 38° / 25° | 3 | 0.9 | 11.6 | 1.5 |
| Nov | 34° / 20° | 0 | 0 | 11.2 | 3.9 |
| Dec | 30° / 16° | 0 | 0 | 11 | 6.7 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Timbuktu gets about 100 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is mostly dry, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 3.8 months, from around Jun 10 to Oct 3, peaking in August at about 29% 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 47 mm over about 9 wet days; February is the driest, with 0 mm.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 18 | 27 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Rain days | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 0 | 0 |
| Mar | 0 | 0 |
| Apr | 0 | 0 |
| May | 2 | 1 |
| Jun | 7 | 2 |
| Jul | 18 | 6 |
| Aug | 27 | 9 |
| Sep | 13 | 4 |
| Oct | 3 | 1 |
| Nov | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 0 | 0 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Timbuktu collects about 100 mm of rain across 22 wet days — roughly 8 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 47 mm, while February is the driest at just 0 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 88% of the year’s total.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 25 | 47 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Rain days | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | 0 |
| Feb | 0 | 0 |
| Mar | 0 | 0 |
| Apr | 0 | 0 |
| May | 2 | 1 |
| Jun | 5 | 2 |
| Jul | 25 | 6 |
| Aug | 47 | 9 |
| Sep | 16 | 4 |
| Oct | 3 | 1 |
| Nov | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 0 | 0 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Timbuktu, 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 May 21 and lasts for 2.7 months, ending around August 9. The clearest month is June, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 90% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around October 29 and lasts for 3.7 months, ending around February 17. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 33% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 69 | 78 | 82 | 78 | 79 | 90 | 89 | 78 | 82 | 82 | 72 | 67 |
| Cloudier (%) | 31 | 22 | 18 | 22 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 22 | 18 | 18 | 28 | 33 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 69 | 31 |
| Feb | 78 | 22 |
| Mar | 82 | 18 |
| Apr | 78 | 22 |
| May | 79 | 21 |
| Jun | 90 | 10 |
| Jul | 89 | 11 |
| Aug | 78 | 22 |
| Sep | 82 | 18 |
| Oct | 82 | 18 |
| Nov | 72 | 28 |
| Dec | 67 | 33 |
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 5, brings about 13 hours of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 11 hours — a swing of roughly 2 hours.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 11.1 | 11.4 | 11.9 | 12.4 | 12.8 | 13.0 | 12.9 | 12.6 | 12.1 | 11.6 | 11.2 | 11.0 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 6:48 | 6:43 | 6:25 | 6:01 | 5:45 | 5:42 | 5:50 | 5:59 | 6:04 | 6:09 | 6:21 | 6:38 |
| Sunset (PM) | 5:54 | 6:10 | 6:18 | 6:24 | 6:32 | 6:42 | 6:45 | 6:33 | 6:09 | 5:45 | 5:33 | 5:38 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11.1 | 6:48 | 5:54 |
| Feb | 11.4 | 6:43 | 6:10 |
| Mar | 11.9 | 6:25 | 6:18 |
| Apr | 12.4 | 6:01 | 6:24 |
| May | 12.8 | 5:45 | 6:32 |
| Jun | 13.0 | 5:42 | 6:42 |
| Jul | 12.9 | 5:50 | 6:45 |
| Aug | 12.6 | 5:59 | 6:33 |
| Sep | 12.1 | 6:04 | 6:09 |
| Oct | 11.6 | 6:09 | 5:45 |
| Nov | 11.2 | 6:21 | 5:33 |
| Dec | 11.0 | 6:38 | 5:38 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Timbuktu averages about 20 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 15 and 25 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 2.1 months, from around May 26 to Jul 27. The sunniest month is June, with roughly 24 sunny days (brilliant).
The greyest month is December, down near 16 sunny days — about 31% fewer than the June peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 17 | 18 | 22 | 19 | 20 | 23 | 22 | 17 | 20 | 21 | 17 | 16 |
| Sky | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Brilliant | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17 | Bright |
| Feb | 18 | Bright |
| Mar | 22 | Bright |
| Apr | 19 | Bright |
| May | 20 | Bright |
| Jun | 23 | Brilliant |
| Jul | 22 | Bright |
| Aug | 17 | Bright |
| Sep | 20 | Bright |
| Oct | 21 | Bright |
| Nov | 17 | Bright |
| Dec | 16 | 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 Timbuktu, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.
The more humid part of the year lasts 4.0 months, from around June 7 to October 5. The muggiest month is August, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 98% of the time.
The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 6 to June 6, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 100 | 99 | 99 | 97 | 80 | 37 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 75 | 99 | 100 |
| Comfortable (%) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 22 | 9 | 1 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| Humid (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 26 | 21 | 6 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Muggy (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 43 | 37 | 31 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Oppressive (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 52 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Miserable (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dry (%) | Comfortable (%) | Humid (%) | Muggy (%) | Oppressive (%) | Miserable (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 99 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar | 99 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr | 97 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 80 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun | 37 | 22 | 26 | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| Jul | 5 | 9 | 21 | 43 | 21 | 1 |
| Aug | 1 | 1 | 6 | 37 | 52 | 3 |
| Sep | 16 | 13 | 19 | 31 | 19 | 1 |
| Oct | 75 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Nov | 99 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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.
Across the year, average wind speed in Timbuktu is typically light breeze, near 15 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.
The windier part of the year lasts 5.0 months, from around Nov 17 to Apr 17. The windiest month is February, averaging about 17 km/h (light breeze).
The calmer part of the year runs from around Aug 11 to Nov 16, with September the calmest month at about 13 km/h.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 17 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| Feels | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17 | light breeze |
| Feb | 17 | light breeze |
| Mar | 16 | light breeze |
| Apr | 15 | light breeze |
| May | 14 | light breeze |
| Jun | 14 | light breeze |
| Jul | 16 | light breeze |
| Aug | 15 | light breeze |
| Sep | 13 | light breeze |
| Oct | 14 | light breeze |
| Nov | 15 | light breeze |
| Dec | 16 | light breeze |
Hazard calendar for Timbuktu
When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.
Timbuktu sees dust haze year-round, heaviest in June.
Best time to visit Timbuktu
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Timbuktu throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around late January, Timbuktu 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 Timbuktu for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid December to early February, with a peak score in the second week of January.
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) | 7.7 | 5.7 | 3.1 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 3.9 | 6.6 |
| Rating | ideal | good | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | fair | good |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7.7 | ideal |
| Feb | 5.7 | good |
| Mar | 3.1 | poor |
| Apr | 0.6 | poor |
| May | 0.0 | poor |
| Jun | 0.0 | poor |
| Jul | 1.0 | poor |
| Aug | 1.9 | poor |
| Sep | 1.3 | poor |
| Oct | 1.5 | poor |
| Nov | 3.9 | fair |
| Dec | 6.6 | good |
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 Timbuktu for hot-weather activities is from mid November to mid March, with a peak score in the last week of January.
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 Timbuktu, 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 May (highs near 41°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 28°C), pack light clothes and sun protection.
In May, Timbuktu sees daytime highs around 41°C and nights near 28°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection.
UV index (midday) in Timbuktu 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 Timbuktu peaks around March 20 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 18 at about 7 (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) | 8 | 10 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 7 |
| Level | Very high | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | High |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | Very high |
| Feb | 10 | Very high |
| Mar | 13 | Extreme |
| Apr | 12 | Extreme |
| May | 11 | Extreme |
| Jun | 10 | Extreme |
| Jul | 11 | Extreme |
| Aug | 13 | Extreme |
| Sep | 12 | Extreme |
| Oct | 11 | Extreme |
| Nov | 8 | Very high |
| Dec | 7 | High |
Average hourly UV index in Timbuktu
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) | 6.5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 6 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 3.5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 6 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 5 | 4 | 2.5 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6.5 | 3.5 |
| Feb | 7 | 5 |
| Mar | 8 | 6 |
| Apr | 8 | 6 |
| May | 8 | 5.5 |
| Jun | 8 | 5.5 |
| Jul | 8 | 6 |
| Aug | 8.5 | 6.5 |
| Sep | 7.5 | 5.5 |
| Oct | 7.5 | 5 |
| Nov | 6.5 | 4 |
| Dec | 6 | 2.5 |
Air quality in Timbuktu 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 Timbuktu is worst in February — around 92 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 3.6× the cleanest month (August, 25 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) | 89 | 92 | 84 | 65 | 67 | 57 | 36 | 25 | 27 | 50 | 52 | 78 |
| Level | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Poor | Moderate | Moderate | Poor | Poor | Unhealthy |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 89 | Unhealthy |
| Feb | 92 | Unhealthy |
| Mar | 84 | Unhealthy |
| Apr | 65 | Unhealthy |
| May | 67 | Unhealthy |
| Jun | 57 | Unhealthy |
| Jul | 36 | Poor |
| Aug | 25 | Moderate |
| Sep | 27 | Moderate |
| Oct | 50 | Poor |
| Nov | 52 | Poor |
| Dec | 78 | Unhealthy |
Growing season
Timbuktu 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. Timbuktu banks about 7,149 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around June.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 357 | 400 | 560 | 662 | 764 | 756 | 721 | 673 | 676 | 667 | 512 | 401 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 357 |
| Feb | 400 |
| Mar | 560 |
| Apr | 662 |
| May | 764 |
| Jun | 756 |
| Jul | 721 |
| Aug | 673 |
| Sep | 676 |
| Oct | 667 |
| Nov | 512 |
| Dec | 401 |
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.
Timbuktu receives about 6.5 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — intense — with a clear seasonal swing between 5.2 and 7.4 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 7.2 months, from around Feb 27 to Oct 2. The brightest month is April, averaging about 7.3 kWh/m² (intense).
The dimmest month is December, down near 5.3 kWh/m² — roughly 28% less than the April peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 5.4 | 6.2 | 6.9 | 7.3 | 7.3 | 7.2 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.3 | 5.7 | 5.2 |
| Level | Bright | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense | Bright | Bright |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5.4 | Bright |
| Feb | 6.2 | Intense |
| Mar | 6.9 | Intense |
| Apr | 7.3 | Intense |
| May | 7.3 | Intense |
| Jun | 7.2 | Intense |
| Jul | 6.9 | Intense |
| Aug | 6.7 | Intense |
| Sep | 6.7 | Intense |
| Oct | 6.3 | Intense |
| Nov | 5.7 | Bright |
| Dec | 5.2 | Bright |
Where is Timbuktu?
Timbuktu sits at 16.8°N, 3.0°W, 274 m above sea level, in Mali. The nearest listed city is Diré, 71 km away.
Topography around Timbuktu
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Timbuktu.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Timbuktu has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 19 m around an average of 263 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 21 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 294 m.
The land around Timbuktu is covered by bare terrain (78%) within 3 km, bare terrain (45%) and grassland (42%) within 16 km, and grassland (52%) and bare terrain (42%) within 80 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
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 Timbuktu (16.7735°, -3.0074°, elevation 274 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).