Benin City weather in March

In March, Benin City sees average daytime highs of 32°C and overnight lows near 24°C, with 146 mm of rain across 23.8 wet days and about 12 hours of daylight. It is the 3rd-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 32°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 5% of the time in March, and the air most often feels miserable.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 54 min at the start of March to 12 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, March is Benin City's 5th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Benin City's year-round climate.

Daytime high
32°
3rd warmest
Overnight low
24°
12th coldest
Rainfall
146 mm
23.8 wet days
Daylight
12 hours
6:48 AM – 6:46 PM
Cloud cover
80%
5th clearest
Wind
7 km/h
2nd windiest
Solar energy
4.85 kWh/m²
Travel score
2.5
out of 10

Benin City is capital city of Edo State, Nigeria.

Density
1,480/km²
people per km²
Founded
1899

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in March

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 32°C through the month.

A typical March day in Benin City reaches about 32°C in the afternoon and slips back to 24°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 30°C and 34°C. Set against its neighbours, March runs about 1°C cooler than February and about 1°C warmer than April.

20°25°30°35°40°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
13324
23324
33324
43324
53324
63324
73324
83324
93324
103324
113324
123224
133224
143224
153224
163224
173224
183224
193224
203224
213224
223224
233224
243224
253224
263224
273224
283224
293224
303224
313224

How March really feels in Benin City

Once humidity and wind are folded in, March averages 31 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
31
31 feel dangerously hot (≥ 39°C)
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

The story in March is heat — humidity pushes the afternoon "feels like" well above the raw temperature.

Benin City weather by month

How March compares with the rest of the year at a glance. March is the 3rd-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan33° / 22°338.911.73.5
Feb33° / 24°5814.711.82.8
Mar32° / 24°14623.8122.5
Apr31° / 24°20525.612.12.6
May31° / 23°25628.712.32.6
Jun29° / 23°29529.312.42.8
Jul28° / 22°29329.912.33.2
Aug28° / 22°26628.312.23.5
Sep29° / 22°30929.2123.0
Oct30° / 23°26329.611.92.8
Nov31° / 23°9318.611.73.4
Dec32° / 22°288.611.64.1

Cloud cover in March

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 5% of the time in March.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 13% of March, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 82%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12971
22872
32674
42575
52575
62575
72278
82278
92179
102080
112080
121981
131783
141783
151684
161585
171585
181585
191585
201585
211486
221486
231486
241486
251486
261486
271585
281585
291585
301585
311585

Chance of precipitation in March

Any precipitation

Benin City gets around 146 mm of rain over 23.8 wet days in March. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 77% and peaks near 81% on the wettest days. The odds climb toward the end of the month.

0%20%40%60%80%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
169
270
371
472
573
673
774
874
975
1075
1176
1277
1377
1478
1578
1678
1779
1879
1979
2079
2179
2279
2379
2479
2579
2679
2780
2880
2980
3081
3181

Humidity in March

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of March feels miserable — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, March lands in the miserable band about 67% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 99% of them.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
1233956
2233857
3233857
4133759
5133759
6133660
7133561
8123562
9123463
10123463
11023365
12023365
13023266
14023266
15013267
16013267
17013168
18013168
19013069
20013069
21012970
22002872
23002773
24002674
25002575
26002575
27002476
28002377
29002377
30002377
31002278

Wind in March

Winds average 7 km/h in March.

Across March, daily wind ranges from about 6 km/h on the calmest days to 7 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
16calm
27calm
37calm
47calm
57calm
67calm
77calm
87calm
97calm
107calm
117calm
127calm
137calm
147calm
157calm
167calm
177calm
187calm
197calm
207calm
217calm
227calm
237calm
247calm
257calm
267calm
277calm
287calm
297calm
307calm
316calm

Sunrise & sunset in March

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 54 min at the start of March to 12 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 6 minutes over March. Sunrise moves from 6:55 AM to 6:41 AM, and sunset from 6:47 PM to 6:44 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
111.96:556:47
211.96:546:47
311.96:546:47
411.96:546:47
511.96:536:47
611.96:536:47
711.96:526:47
811.96:526:47
911.96:526:46
1011.96:516:46
1111.96:516:46
1211.96:506:46
1311.96:506:46
1411.96:496:46
1512.06:496:46
1612.06:486:46
1712.06:486:46
1812.06:486:46
1912.06:476:46
2012.06:476:45
2112.06:466:45
2212.06:466:45
2312.06:456:45
2412.06:456:45
2512.06:446:45
2612.06:446:45
2712.06:436:44
2812.06:436:44
2912.06:426:44
3012.06:426:44
3112.06:416:44

Solar energy in March

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in March, about 4.85 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.54 kWh/m² to a high of 5.26 kWh/m² in January across the year — March's 4.85 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.0Bright
25.0Bright
35.0Bright
45.0Bright
55.0Bright
64.9Bright
74.9Bright
84.9Bright
94.9Bright
104.9Bright
114.9Bright
124.9Bright
134.8Bright
144.8Bright
154.8Bright
164.8Bright
174.8Bright
184.8Bright
194.8Bright
204.8Bright
214.8Bright
224.8Bright
234.8Bright
244.8Bright
254.8Bright
264.8Bright
274.8Bright
284.8Bright
294.8Bright
304.8Bright
314.7Bright
Planning a trip in March

Hazard calendar for Benin City

In seasonPeak

In March, Benin City sits inside its rainy season and dust season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Benin City's rainy season runs March–October, when most of the year's rain falls.

Benin City sees seasonal dust haze (December–April), heaviest in February.

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

Is March a good time to visit Benin City?

Our two travel scores rate March for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

2.5
Sightseeing
12th-best month of the year
4.2
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

March is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Benin City.

What to pack for Benin City in March

From March's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In March, Benin City sees daytime highs around 32°C and nights near 24°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 24 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

UV index in Benin City in March

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in March peaks around 12 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Benin City peaks around March 22 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 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 highExtremeExtremeVery highMar 22UV 12Dec 21UV 8
UV index (midday)Level
Jan8Very high
Feb9Very high
Mar12Extreme
Apr12Extreme
May11Extreme
Jun11Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug9Very high
Sep12Extreme
Oct12Extreme
Nov10Very high
Dec8Very high

Air quality in Benin City in March

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where March falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Benin City is worst in January — around 166 µg/m³ PM2.5 (very unhealthy), about 4.4× the cleanest month (August, 38 µg/m³).

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

0306090120150180JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecVery unhealthyUnhealthyPoorUnhealthyJan 16164 µg/m³Aug 1339 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan166Very unhealthy
Feb147Unhealthy
Mar85Unhealthy
Apr82Unhealthy
May65Unhealthy
Jun53Poor
Jul42Poor
Aug38Poor
Sep47Poor
Oct64Unhealthy
Nov76Unhealthy
Dec148Unhealthy
Location & terrain

Where is Benin City?

Benin City sits at 6.3°N, 5.6°E, 88 m above sea level, in Nigeria. The nearest listed city is Sapele, 50 km away.

UromiUbiajaWarriOwoOgwashi-Uku

Topography around Benin City

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Benin City has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 66 m around an average of 79 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 167 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 420 m.

The land around Benin City is covered by artificial surfaces (87%) within 3 km, trees (46%) and artificial surfaces (39%) within 16 km, and trees (76%) within 80 km.

3 km
66 m
16 km
167 m
80 km
420 m
treesshrubsgrasslandartificial surfaceswatermangroves
March weather nearby: Sapele 50 km · Agbor 64 km · Ekpoma 73 km · Uromi 88 km · Ubiaja 91 km · Warri 92 km · Owo 96 km · Ogwashi-Uku 101 km

Nigeria travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 3
Reconsider Travel
Power plugs
Type D / G
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 13% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$1,224
2025
Happiness
4.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
30%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
15.7
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
20.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Lower middle
World Bank
English
High
EF EPI 569
Religion
Muslim 54%other Christian 35%Roman Catholic 11%other 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 Benin City (6.3381°, 5.6258°, elevation 88 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).