Climate and average weather in El ’Ayoûn

In El ’Ayoûn, 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 El ’Ayoûn typically varies from 19°C to 42°C, and is rarely below 16°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 El ’Ayoûn for warm-weather activities are from early January to early February and mid December to late December.

Hottest
May
42°
Coldest
Jan
19°
Wettest
Aug
124 mm
Driest
Feb
0 mm
Rain / yr
339 mm
41 wet days
Daylight
11.1–12.9 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
179 m
15.6°N
Clearest
Mar
29% cloud

El ’Ayoûn 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 El ’Ayoûn, 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 March 26 to June 20, with daily high temperatures above 39°C. The hottest month of the year in El ’Ayoûn is May, with an average high of 42°C and low of 30°C.

The cool season lasts 2.0 months, from December 7 to February 4, with daily high temperatures below 34°C. The coldest month of the year in El ’Ayoûn is January, with an average low of 19°C and high of 32°C.

Days typically run about 11°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 13°C) in March.

15°20°25°30°35°40°45°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan3219
Feb3522
Mar3825
Apr4128
May4230
Jun4030
Jul3627
Aug3325
Sep3426
Oct3726
Nov3623
Dec3320

How hot and cold El ’Ayoûn 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, El ’Ayoûn feels like about 42°C (around May 6). About 345 days a year carry some heat stress, and 155 of them tip into dangerous heat (feels-like above 39°C), peaking in May.

15°20°25°30°35°40°45°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdangerous heat
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan32321919
Feb35352222
Mar38382525
Apr41412828
May42423030
Jun41403030
Jul40362727
Aug38332525
Sep39342526
Oct38372526
Nov36362323
Dec33332020

Average hourly temperature in El ’Ayoûn

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 42°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near 19°C.

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

El ’Ayoûn 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
Jan32° / 19°10.211.25.1
Feb35° / 22°00.111.53.3
Mar38° / 25°00.111.91.2
Apr41° / 28°00.112.30.0
May42° / 30°41.112.70.0
Jun40° / 30°153.112.90.3
Jul36° / 27°779.112.82.3
Aug33° / 25°12412.912.53.2
Sep34° / 26°939.612.13.0
Oct37° / 26°244.611.61.8
Nov36° / 23°10.311.32.4
Dec33° / 20°10.111.14.4

Chance of rain

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

El ’Ayoûn gets about 339 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 4.1 months, from around Jun 20 to Oct 21, peaking in August at about 46% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jan 27.

August is the wettest month by volume, with 124 mm over about 13 wet days; February is the driest, with 0 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetAug 25 · 46%Jan 27 · 0%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan00
Feb00
Mar00
Apr00
May41
Jun113
Jul289
Aug4113
Sep3310
Oct155
Nov10
Dec00

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, El ’Ayoûn collects about 339 mm of rain across 41 wet days — roughly 28 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 124 mm, while February is the driest at just 0 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 87% of the year’s total.

0255075100125150JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec100041577124932411
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan10
Feb00
Mar00
Apr00
May41
Jun153
Jul779
Aug12413
Sep9310
Oct245
Nov10
Dec10

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In El ’Ayoûn, 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 January 12 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around July 9. The clearest month is April, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 81% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around July 10 and lasts for 3.0 months, ending around October 9. The cloudiest month is August, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 65% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 1 · 82%Aug 21 · 32%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan6634
Feb7327
Mar7921
Apr8119
May7921
Jun7525
Jul5941
Aug3565
Sep5347
Oct6733
Nov6139
Dec5941

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 1, 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)
Jan11.27:196:29
Feb11.57:156:44
Mar11.96:586:51
Apr12.36:346:55
May12.76:197:03
Jun12.96:177:12
Jul12.86:257:16
Aug12.56:337:05
Sep12.16:366:42
Oct11.66:406:19
Nov11.36:526:08
Dec11.17:086:13

Sunny days

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

El ’Ayoûn averages about 15 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 5 and 21 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.9 months, from around Jan 8 to Jul 5. The sunniest month is April, with roughly 21 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is August, down near 5 sunny days — about 74% fewer than the April peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantApr 421 daysAug 155 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan16Bright
Feb17Bright
Mar21Bright
Apr20Bright
May20Bright
Jun18Bright
Jul12Mixed
Aug5Gloomy
Sep10Mixed
Oct16Bright
Nov14Mixed
Dec14Mixed

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 El ’Ayoûn, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.7 months, from around June 4 to October 25. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 98% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 26 to June 3, 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 13 · 100%Jul 31 · 0%miserablehumiddrycomfortableoppressivemuggycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan9910000
Feb9910000
Mar9821000
Apr9442000
May69169510
Jun20182626100
Jul12726623
Aug00047917
Sep01266824
Oct2791221283
Nov8953210
Dec9811000

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 El ’Ayoûn is typically light breeze, near 14 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 4.6 months, from around Nov 22 to Apr 9. The windiest month is January, averaging about 17 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Aug 5 to Nov 21, with October the calmest month at about 10 km/h.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezyJan 3 · 17 km/hOct 13 · 10 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan17light breeze
Feb17light breeze
Mar15light breeze
Apr14light breeze
May12light breeze
Jun14light breeze
Jul15light breeze
Aug13light breeze
Sep10calm
Oct10calm
Nov13light breeze
Dec16light breeze

Hazard calendar for El ’Ayoûn

In seasonPeak

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

El ’Ayoûn sees dust haze year-round, heaviest in June.

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

Best time to visit El ’Ayoûn

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late January, El ’Ayoûn 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 El ’Ayoûn 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 11 · 5.3

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
Jan5.0fair
Feb3.3poor
Mar1.2poor
Apr0.0poor
May0.0poor
Jun0.3poor
Jul2.2poor
Aug3.2poor
Sep3.0poor
Oct1.8poor
Nov2.4poor
Dec4.3fair

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 El ’Ayoûn for hot-weather activities is from late November to late February, with a peak score in the second week of January.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJan 13 · 8.2

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 El ’Ayoûn, 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 42°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 32°C), pack light clothes and sun protection.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In May, El ’Ayoûn sees daytime highs around 42°C and nights near 30°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

UV index (midday) in El ’Ayoûn 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 El ’Ayoûn peaks around March 22 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 5 (high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecVery highExtremeVery highExtremeVery highHighMar 22UV 13Dec 19UV 5
UV index (midday)Level
Jan7High
Feb10Very high
Mar13Extreme
Apr13Extreme
May9Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul11Extreme
Aug13Extreme
Sep12Extreme
Oct10Very high
Nov8Very high
Dec5High

Average hourly UV index in El ’Ayoûn

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)
Jan62.5
Feb75
Mar86
Apr86.5
May7.55
Jun85.5
Jul86
Aug86.5
Sep86
Oct75
Nov6.54
Dec50

Air quality in El ’Ayoûn 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 El ’Ayoûn is worst in January — around 95 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 4.8× the cleanest month (August, 20 µg/m³).

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

0306090120JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyModeratePoorUnhealthyJan 2295 µg/m³Aug 2021 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan95Unhealthy
Feb94Unhealthy
Mar76Unhealthy
Apr62Unhealthy
May62Unhealthy
Jun65Unhealthy
Jul34Moderate
Aug20Moderate
Sep24Moderate
Oct42Poor
Nov49Poor
Dec87Unhealthy
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

El ’Ayoûn 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. El ’Ayoûn banks about 7,554 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around May.

02,0004,0006,0008,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan484
Feb510
Mar667
Apr737
May807
Jun746
Jul661
Aug593
Sep591
Oct657
Nov587
Dec515

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.

El ’Ayoûn receives about 6.2 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 4.9 months, from around Feb 19 to Jul 18. The brightest month is April, averaging about 7.3 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 5.2 kWh/m² — roughly 29% less than the April peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseApr 307.4 kWhDec 165.2 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan5.4Bright
Feb6.1Intense
Mar7.0Intense
Apr7.4Intense
May7.3Intense
Jun7.0Intense
Jul6.3Intense
Aug5.4Bright
Sep6.0Intense
Oct6.1Intense
Nov5.6Bright
Dec5.2Bright

Where is El ’Ayoûn?

El ’Ayoûn sits at 15.6°N, 11.2°W, 179 m above sea level, in Mauritania. The nearest listed city is Sélibaby, 116 km away.

SélibabyKiffaKayesṬinṭâneNioroGuerouElghabra

Topography around El ’Ayoûn

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around El ’Ayoûn has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 154 m around an average of 195 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 204 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 361 m.

The land around El ’Ayoûn is covered by grassland (91%) within 3 km, grassland (91%) within 16 km, and grassland (91%) within 80 km.

3 km
154 m
16 km
204 m
80 km
361 m
shrubsgrasslandcroplandbare terrain
Nearby: Sélibaby 116 km · Kiffa 121 km · Kayes 127 km · Ṭinṭâne 142 km · Nioro 174 km · Guerou 192 km · Bafoulabé 198 km · Elghabra 200 km

Mauritania travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 3
Reconsider Travel
Power plugs
Type C / E / F
220 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 31% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$2,198
2025
Happiness
4.5 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Homicide rate
1
per 100k, 2020
Road deaths
25.6
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Lower middle
World Bank
Religion
Muslim 100%

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 El ’Ayoûn (15.5579°, -11.18°, elevation 179 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).