Climate and average weather in Minna

In Minna, the summers are sweltering, dry, and partly cloudy and the winters are hot and mostly cloudy.

Best: late May to early September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Minna typically varies from 22°C to 38°C, and is rarely below 19°C or above 40°C. March is the hottest month of the year, while August is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Minna for warm-weather activities are from late May to early September and late September to late November.

Hottest
Mar
38°
Coldest
Aug
23°
Wettest
Aug
279 mm
Driest
Dec
0 mm
Rain / yr
1111 mm
130 wet days
Daylight
11.4–12.6 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
243 m
9.6°N
Clearest
Dec
28% cloud

Minna is capital of Niger State in Nigeria.

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

Minna 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 late May to early September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Minna, 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 January 23 to April 27, with daily high temperatures above 35°C. The hottest month of the year in Minna is March, with an average high of 38°C and low of 26°C.

The cool season lasts 3.4 months, from June 23 to October 2, with daily high temperatures below 30°C. The coldest month of the year in Minna is August, with an average low of 23°C and high of 28°C.

Days typically run about 9°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 13°C) in January.

15°20°25°30°35°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan3522
Feb3725
Mar3826
Apr3627
May3325
Jun3124
Jul2923
Aug2823
Sep3023
Oct3123
Nov3423
Dec3522

How hot and cold Minna 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, Minna feels like about 40°C (around April 19). About 323 days a year carry some heat stress, and 41 of them tip into dangerous heat (feels-like above 39°C), peaking in April.

20°25°30°35°40°45°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdangerous heat
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan35352222
Feb37372425
Mar38382626
Apr40362727
May38332525
Jun35312424
Jul32292323
Aug32282323
Sep33302323
Oct35312323
Nov35342323
Dec35352222

Average hourly temperature in Minna

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 March afternoons, near 38°C, and coldest before dawn in August, near 23°C.

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

Minna 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
Jan35° / 22°10.111.53.2
Feb37° / 25°20.411.72.1
Mar38° / 26°81.611.91.4
Apr36° / 27°365.912.21.9
May33° / 25°8712.512.42.9
Jun31° / 24°12816.512.63.7
Jul29° / 23°21124.712.53.5
Aug28° / 23°27927.212.33.3
Sep30° / 23°25325.212.13.2
Oct31° / 23°10314.611.83.8
Nov34° / 23°40.711.63.6
Dec35° / 22°00.111.43.3

Chance of rain

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

Minna gets about 1111 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 5.6 months, from around May 6 to Oct 21, peaking in August at about 88% 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 279 mm over about 27 wet days; December is the driest, with 0 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetAug 10 · 88%Jan 1 · 0%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan00
Feb10
Mar62
Apr196
May4113
Jun5517
Jul7925
Aug8827
Sep8325
Oct4615
Nov41
Dec00

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Minna collects about 1111 mm of rain across 130 wet days — roughly 93 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 279 mm, while December is the driest at just 0 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 67% of the year’s total.

050100150200250300JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec128368712821127925310340
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan10
Feb20
Mar82
Apr366
May8713
Jun12817
Jul21125
Aug27927
Sep25325
Oct10315
Nov41
Dec00

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Minna, 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 October 20 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around April 18. The clearest month is December, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 81% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around April 19 and lasts for 6.0 months, ending around October 19. The cloudiest month is August, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 94% 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 22 · 84%Aug 6 · 5%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan7426
Feb6832
Mar5446
Apr4357
May2971
Jun1684
Jul892
Aug694
Sep1189
Oct3565
Nov6832
Dec8119

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 12, brings about 12 h 36 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 11 h 24 min — a swing of roughly 1 h 12 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan11.56:586:28
Feb11.76:586:39
Mar11.96:456:41
Apr12.26:286:40
May12.46:176:43
Jun12.66:176:51
Jul12.56:246:55
Aug12.36:286:47
Sep12.16:276:30
Oct11.86:256:12
Nov11.66:336:06
Dec11.46:476:13

Sunny days

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

Minna averages about 8 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 0 and 22 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.6 months, from around Oct 26 to Apr 13. The sunniest month is December, with roughly 21 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is July, down near 0 sunny days — about 100% fewer than the December peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightbrilliantDec 2222 daysJul 160 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan19Bright
Feb15Bright
Mar11Mixed
Apr8Gloomy
May4Gloomy
Jun1Gloomy
Jul0Gloomy
Aug0Gloomy
Sep0Gloomy
Oct5Gloomy
Nov15Bright
Dec21Bright

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

The more humid part of the year lasts 7.6 months, from around March 23 to November 8. The muggiest month is May, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 100% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around November 9 to March 22, and December is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 90% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecDec 27 · 99%May 4 · 0%muggycomfortablehumidoppressivedrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan8845200
Feb668121310
Mar288173790
Apr43633531
May0005904
Jun0001972
Jul0001990
Aug0001990
Sep00001000
Oct1115903
Nov29131321240
Dec8375410

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 Minna is typically calm, near 7 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 5.7 months, from around Nov 24 to May 16. The windiest month is January, averaging about 9 km/h (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 17 to Nov 23, with October the calmest month at about 5 km/h.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeJan 2 · 10 km/hOct 15 · 5 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan9calm
Feb9calm
Mar7calm
Apr8calm
May7calm
Jun7calm
Jul7calm
Aug6calm
Sep6calm
Oct5calm
Nov7calm
Dec9calm

Hazard calendar for Minna

In seasonPeak

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

Minna's monsoon runs June–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

Minna sees seasonal dust haze (January–June), heaviest in March.

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

Best time to visit Minna

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late August, Minna 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 times of year to visit Minna for general outdoor tourist activities run from late May to late August and again from late September to late November, with a peak score in the last week of October.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationOct 27 · 4.1

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
Jan3.2poor
Feb2.1poor
Mar1.4poor
Apr1.9poor
May2.9poor
Jun3.7fair
Jul3.5poor
Aug3.3poor
Sep3.2poor
Oct3.8fair
Nov3.6fair
Dec3.3poor

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 Minna for hot-weather activities is from mid October to early February, with a peak score in the first week of January.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJan 3 · 7.3

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 Minna, 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 March (highs near 38°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around August (highs near 28°C), pack light clothes and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In March, Minna sees daytime highs around 38°C and nights near 26°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

UV index (midday) in Minna 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 Minna peaks around September 14 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 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 highSep 14UV 12Dec 19UV 7
UV index (midday)Level
Jan8Very high
Feb10Very high
Mar12Extreme
Apr9Very high
May10Extreme
Jun11Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug11Extreme
Sep12Extreme
Oct11Extreme
Nov10Very high
Dec7Very high

Average hourly UV index in Minna

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 September 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)
Jan74
Feb75
Mar85.5
Apr7.55
May85.5
Jun85.5
Jul85.5
Aug7.55.5
Sep86
Oct7.55.5
Nov74.5
Dec6.53.5

Air quality in Minna 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 Minna is worst in February — around 105 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 4.4× the cleanest month (July, 24 µg/m³).

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

0306090120JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyPoorModeratePoorUnhealthyFeb 11103 µg/m³Jul 2124 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan97Unhealthy
Feb105Unhealthy
Mar81Unhealthy
Apr58Unhealthy
May35Moderate
Jun29Moderate
Jul24Moderate
Aug25Moderate
Sep30Moderate
Oct48Poor
Nov62Unhealthy
Dec88Unhealthy
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Minna 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. Minna banks about 6,711 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around March.

02,0004,0006,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan579
Feb577
Mar680
Apr644
May600
Jun516
Jul496
Aug481
Sep482
Oct527
Nov551
Dec577

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.

Minna receives about 5.3 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 3.8 and 6.6 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.7 months, from around Oct 23 to May 14. The brightest month is March, averaging about 6.5 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is August, down near 3.8 kWh/m² — roughly 41% less than the March peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbrighterdimmerbrighterdimmoderatebrightintenseMar 236.6 kWhAug 123.8 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan6.0Intense
Feb6.4Intense
Mar6.6Intense
Apr6.2Intense
May5.2Bright
Jun4.3Bright
Jul4.0Bright
Aug3.8Moderate
Sep4.3Bright
Oct5.0Bright
Nov6.0Intense
Dec5.9Bright

Where is Minna?

Minna sits at 9.6°N, 6.5°E, 243 m above sea level, in Nigeria. The nearest listed city is Zungeru, 48 km away.

BidaSulejaKujeBaroAbuja

Topography around Minna

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Minna has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 223 m around an average of 262 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 282 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 667 m.

The land around Minna is covered by artificial surfaces (72%) within 3 km, cropland (64%) within 16 km, and cropland (62%) within 80 km.

3 km
223 m
16 km
282 m
80 km
667 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Nearby: Zungeru 48 km · Lapai 64 km · Tegina 64 km · Bida 84 km · Suleja 84 km · Kuje 111 km · Baro 112 km · Abuja 121 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 Minna (9.6152°, 6.5478°, elevation 243 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).