Climate and average weather in Diffa

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

Best: mid December to late January

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Diffa typically varies from 15°C to 41°C, and is rarely below 11°C or above 43°C. May is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Diffa for warm-weather activities is from mid December to late January.

Hottest
May
41°
Coldest
Jan
15°
Wettest
Aug
115 mm
Driest
Jan
0 mm
Rain / yr
225 mm
40 wet days
Daylight
11.2–12.8 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
311 m
13.3°N
Clearest
Dec
27% cloud

Diffa 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 mid December to late January.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Diffa, 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 22 to June 22, with daily high temperatures above 38°C. The hottest month of the year in Diffa is May, with an average high of 41°C and low of 27°C.

The cool season lasts 1.6 months, from December 11 to January 27, with daily high temperatures below 31°C. The coldest month of the year in Diffa is January, with an average low of 15°C and high of 30°C.

Days typically run about 13°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 16°C) in February.

10°20°30°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan3015
Feb3318
Mar3822
Apr4126
May4127
Jun3927
Jul3526
Aug3324
Sep3625
Oct3724
Nov3520
Dec3116

How hot and cold Diffa 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, Diffa feels like about 41°C (around June 6). About 303 days a year carry some heat stress, and 127 of them tip into dangerous heat (feels-like above 39°C), peaking in June.

10°20°30°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdangerous heat
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan30301515
Feb33331818
Mar37382222
Apr41412626
May41412727
Jun41392727
Jul39352626
Aug37332424
Sep39362525
Oct37372324
Nov34352020
Dec31311616

Average hourly temperature in Diffa

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.

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

Diffa 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
Jan30° / 15°0011.36.7
Feb33° / 18°0011.64.5
Mar38° / 22°0011.91.6
Apr41° / 26°10.212.30.0
May41° / 27°51.812.60.0
Jun39° / 27°133.612.80.7
Jul35° / 26°5210.412.72.3
Aug33° / 24°11515.212.43.1
Sep36° / 25°347.512.12.4
Oct37° / 24°41.411.71.7
Nov35° / 20°0011.43.6
Dec31° / 16°0011.26.2

Chance of rain

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

Diffa gets about 225 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 3.6 months, from around Jun 15 to Oct 3, peaking in August at about 50% 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 115 mm over about 15 wet days; January is the driest, with 0 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetAug 10 · 50%Jan 1 · 0%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan00
Feb00
Mar00
Apr10
May62
Jun124
Jul3410
Aug4715
Sep258
Oct51
Nov00
Dec00

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Diffa collects about 225 mm of rain across 40 wet days — roughly 19 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 115 mm, while January is the driest at just 0 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 89% of the year’s total.

0255075100125150JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0151352115344
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan00
Feb00
Mar00
Apr10
May52
Jun134
Jul5210
Aug11515
Sep348
Oct41
Nov00
Dec00

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Diffa, 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 September 25 and lasts for 9.2 months, ending around June 30. The clearest month is February, 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 1 and lasts for 2.8 months, ending around September 24. The cloudiest month is August, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 63% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecDec 27 · 84%Aug 15 · 35%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan8020
Feb8119
Mar7426
Apr7327
May7624
Jun7822
Jul5446
Aug3763
Sep6040
Oct7525
Nov7525
Dec8020

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 48 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 11 h 12 min — a swing of roughly 1 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan11.36:405:58
Feb11.66:376:11
Mar11.96:226:16
Apr12.36:016:19
May12.65:476:24
Jun12.85:466:33
Jul12.75:546:37
Aug12.46:006:27
Sep12.16:026:06
Oct11.76:045:46
Nov11.46:145:36
Dec11.26:295:42

Sunny days

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

Diffa averages about 16 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 4 and 22 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 8.9 months, from around Sep 27 to Jun 24. The sunniest month is December, with roughly 21 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is August, down near 4 sunny days — about 80% fewer than the December peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightbrilliantDec 2922 daysAug 104 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan21Bright
Feb19Bright
Mar18Bright
Apr18Bright
May19Bright
Jun18Bright
Jul9Mixed
Aug4Gloomy
Sep12Mixed
Oct19Bright
Nov18Bright
Dec22Bright

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

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.9 months, from around May 18 to October 14. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 100% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 15 to May 17, and March 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMar 5 · 100%Jul 15 · 0%comfortableoppressivedrymuggyhumidcomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan10000000
Feb10000000
Mar9910000
Apr8297100
May4316231620
Jun68275090
Jul00441550
Aug0007912
Sep43526611
Oct558101980
Nov9901000
Dec10000000

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 Diffa is typically calm, near 11 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 5.6 months, from around Oct 29 to Apr 15. The windiest month is February, averaging about 13 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Jul 18 to Oct 28, with September the calmest month at about 9 km/h.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeFeb 18 · 13 km/hSep 20 · 9 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan13light breeze
Feb13light breeze
Mar13light breeze
Apr11calm
May10calm
Jun11calm
Jul11calm
Aug10calm
Sep9calm
Oct10calm
Nov12light breeze
Dec13light breeze

Hazard calendar for Diffa

In seasonPeak

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

Diffa sees dust haze year-round, heaviest in April.

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

Best time to visit Diffa

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid January, Diffa 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 Diffa for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid December to late January, with a peak score in the first week of January.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJan 3 · 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
Jan6.6good
Feb4.4fair
Mar1.6poor
Apr0.1poor
May0.0poor
Jun0.7poor
Jul2.3poor
Aug3.1poor
Sep2.4poor
Oct1.8poor
Nov3.6fair
Dec6.2good

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 Diffa for hot-weather activities is from mid November to late February, with a peak score in the first week of January.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJan 1 · 9.2

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 Diffa, 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 41°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 30°C), pack light clothes and sun protection.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In May, Diffa sees daytime highs around 41°C and nights near 27°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

UV index (midday) in Diffa 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 Diffa peaks around August 18 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 15 at about 7 (very high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecVery highExtremeVery highExtremeVery highAug 18UV 12Dec 15UV 7
UV index (midday)Level
Jan10Very high
Feb11Extreme
Mar12Extreme
Apr11Extreme
May10Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul11Extreme
Aug13Extreme
Sep11Extreme
Oct11Extreme
Nov9Very high
Dec7High

Average hourly UV index in Diffa

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 August the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6.5 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)
Jan74.5
Feb7.55
Mar86
Apr85.5
May7.55.5
Jun7.55
Jul86
Aug86.5
Sep7.55.5
Oct7.55
Nov6.54.5
Dec63

Air quality in Diffa 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 Diffa is worst in February — around 122 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 4.8× the cleanest month (August, 25 µg/m³).

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

0306090120150JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyPoorModerateUnhealthyFeb 11121 µg/m³Aug 2026 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan117Unhealthy
Feb122Unhealthy
Mar109Unhealthy
Apr81Unhealthy
May56Unhealthy
Jun49Poor
Jul34Moderate
Aug25Moderate
Sep29Moderate
Oct60Unhealthy
Nov75Unhealthy
Dec112Unhealthy
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Diffa 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. Diffa banks about 6,914 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)
Jan381
Feb432
Mar611
Apr694
May745
Jun694
Jul633
Aug574
Sep600
Oct632
Nov512
Dec407

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.

Diffa receives about 6.5 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — intense — with a clear seasonal swing between 5.8 and 7.5 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 4.8 months, from around Feb 11 to Jul 5. The brightest month is April, averaging about 7.4 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is August, down near 5.8 kWh/m² — roughly 21% less than the April peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseApr 97.5 kWhAug 115.8 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan6.0Intense
Feb6.6Intense
Mar7.2Intense
Apr7.4Intense
May7.1Intense
Jun6.8Intense
Jul6.3Intense
Aug5.8Bright
Sep6.3Intense
Oct6.4Intense
Nov6.2Intense
Dec5.8Bright

Where is Diffa?

Diffa sits at 13.3°N, 12.6°E, 311 m above sea level, in Niger. The nearest listed city is Maïné Soroa, 65 km away.

KukawaNguigmiMongunoMagumeriMarteMaiduguri

Topography around Diffa

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Diffa has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 10 m around an average of 303 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 12 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 72 m.

The land around Diffa is covered by grassland (35%), cropland (24%) and artificial surfaces (23%) within 3 km, grassland (71%) within 16 km, and grassland (90%) within 80 km.

3 km
10 m
16 km
12 m
80 km
72 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
Nearby: Maïné Soroa 65 km · Geidam 88 km · Kukawa 112 km · Nguigmi 117 km · Monguno 130 km · Magumeri 136 km · Marte 169 km · Maiduguri 174 km

Niger travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 4
Do Not Travel
Power plugs
Type A / B / C / D / E / F
220 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 36% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$775
2025
Happiness
4.9 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Homicide rate
4.4
per 100k, 2012
Road deaths
25.5
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Low
World Bank
Religion
Muslim 96%ethnic religionist 4%Christian 0%agnostics and other 0%

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 Diffa (13.3154°, 12.6113°, elevation 311 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).