Climate and average weather in Sofo-Birnin-Gwari

In Sofo-Birnin-Gwari, the summers are sweltering, dry, and mostly clear and the winters are warm and mostly cloudy.

Best: late November to late January

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Sofo-Birnin-Gwari typically varies from 18°C to 37°C, and is rarely below 15°C or above 39°C. March is the hottest month of the year, while August is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Sofo-Birnin-Gwari for warm-weather activities is from late November to late January.

Hottest
Mar
37°
Coldest
Aug
21°
Wettest
Aug
275 mm
Driest
Dec
0 mm
Rain / yr
940 mm
121 wet days
Daylight
11.4–12.6 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
657 m
11.0°N
Clearest
Dec
26% cloud

Sofo-Birnin-Gwari is human settlement in Nigeria.

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

Sofo-Birnin-Gwari 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 November to late January.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Sofo-Birnin-Gwari, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 2.4 months, from February 20 to May 3, with daily high temperatures above 35°C. The hottest month of the year in Sofo-Birnin-Gwari is March, with an average high of 37°C and low of 23°C.

The cool season lasts 3.1 months, from June 25 to September 25, with daily high temperatures below 29°C. The coldest month of the year in Sofo-Birnin-Gwari is August, with an average low of 21°C and high of 27°C.

Days typically run about 10°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 14°C) in January.

10°15°20°25°30°35°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan3218
Feb3421
Mar3723
Apr3625
May3324
Jun3022
Jul2821
Aug2721
Sep2921
Oct3120
Nov3219
Dec3218

How hot and cold Sofo-Birnin-Gwari 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, Sofo-Birnin-Gwari feels like about 37°C (around April 29). About 224 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in April.

15°20°25°30°35°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdangerous heat
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan31321818
Feb34342121
Mar36372323
Apr37362525
May36332424
Jun33302222
Jul30282121
Aug29272121
Sep31292121
Oct33312020
Nov32321919
Dec31321818

Average hourly temperature in Sofo-Birnin-Gwari

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 37°C, and coldest before dawn in August, near 21°C.

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

Sofo-Birnin-Gwari 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° / 18°0011.45.6
Feb34° / 21°0011.63.8
Mar37° / 23°30.711.92.2
Apr36° / 25°224.912.22.1
May33° / 24°8313.912.53.1
Jun30° / 22°10815.112.64.2
Jul28° / 21°17923.712.64.0
Aug27° / 21°27527.312.43.7
Sep29° / 21°19924.112.13.7
Oct31° / 20°7111.211.84.5
Nov32° / 19°00.111.54.9
Dec32° / 18°0011.45.6

Chance of rain

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

Sofo-Birnin-Gwari gets about 940 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 1 to Oct 17, peaking in August at about 89% 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 275 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 · 89%Jan 1 · 0%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan00
Feb00
Mar31
Apr175
May4314
Jun5215
Jul7624
Aug8827
Sep7924
Oct3611
Nov10
Dec00

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Sofo-Birnin-Gwari collects about 940 mm of rain across 121 wet days — roughly 78 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 275 mm, while December is the driest at just 0 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 69% of the year’s total.

050100150200250300JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0032283108179275199710
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan00
Feb00
Mar31
Apr225
May8314
Jun10815
Jul17924
Aug27527
Sep19924
Oct7111
Nov00
Dec00

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Sofo-Birnin-Gwari, 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 17 and lasts for 6.3 months, ending around April 27. The clearest month is December, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 82% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around April 28 and lasts for 5.7 months, ending around October 16. 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 · 4%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan7822
Feb7426
Mar6337
Apr5446
May4456
Jun3268
Jul892
Aug694
Sep1981
Oct4654
Nov7030
Dec8218

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 May 23, 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)
Jan11.47:006:25
Feb11.66:586:37
Mar11.96:456:40
Apr12.26:266:40
May12.56:146:44
Jun12.66:146:52
Jul12.66:216:56
Aug12.46:266:48
Sep12.16:256:29
Oct11.86:256:10
Nov11.56:346:03
Dec11.46:486:10

Sunny days

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

Sofo-Birnin-Gwari averages about 10 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 0 and 23 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.0 months, from around Oct 21 to Apr 21. The sunniest month is December, with roughly 21 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is July, down near 0 sunny days — about 99% fewer than the December peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightbrilliantDec 2323 daysJul 180 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan20Bright
Feb17Bright
Mar14Mixed
Apr11Mixed
May7Gloomy
Jun3Gloomy
Jul0Gloomy
Aug0Gloomy
Sep1Gloomy
Oct8Gloomy
Nov17Bright
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 Sofo-Birnin-Gwari, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 6.6 months, from around April 13 to October 29. The muggiest month is May, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 97% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 30 to April 12, 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 8 · 100%May 26 · 0%oppressivemuggydryhumidcomfortablecomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan1000000
Feb962100
Mar778870
Apr298163512
May1153657
Jun0003169
Jul0004060
Aug0004258
Sep0002476
Oct8762456
Nov759773
Dec990000

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 Sofo-Birnin-Gwari is typically calm, near 10 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 4.8 months, from around Nov 10 to Apr 4. The windiest month is January, averaging about 14 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Apr 5 to Nov 9, with October the calmest month at about 7 km/h.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeJan 2 · 15 km/hOct 3 · 6 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan14light breeze
Feb13light breeze
Mar11calm
Apr10calm
May9calm
Jun9calm
Jul9calm
Aug8calm
Sep7calm
Oct7calm
Nov11calm
Dec14light breeze

Hazard calendar for Sofo-Birnin-Gwari

In seasonPeak

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

Sofo-Birnin-Gwari's monsoon runs July–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

Sofo-Birnin-Gwari sees seasonal dust haze (February–June), heaviest in March.

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

Best time to visit Sofo-Birnin-Gwari

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around early December, Sofo-Birnin-Gwari is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

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 Sofo-Birnin-Gwari for general outdoor tourist activities is from late November to late January, with a peak score in the first week of January.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJan 2 · 6.2

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
Jan5.6good
Feb3.8fair
Mar2.2poor
Apr2.1poor
May3.1poor
Jun4.2fair
Jul4.0fair
Aug3.7fair
Sep3.7fair
Oct4.5fair
Nov4.9fair
Dec5.6good

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 Sofo-Birnin-Gwari for hot-weather activities is from late October to late February, with a peak score in the last week of December.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationDec 31 · 8.8

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 Sofo-Birnin-Gwari, 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 37°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around August (highs near 27°C), pack light clothes and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In March, Sofo-Birnin-Gwari sees daytime highs around 37°C and nights near 23°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

UV index (midday) in Sofo-Birnin-Gwari 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 Sofo-Birnin-Gwari peaks around August 17 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 6 (high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecVery highExtremeVery highExtremeVery highHighAug 17UV 12Dec 19UV 6
UV index (midday)Level
Jan8Very high
Feb8Very high
Mar11Extreme
Apr11Extreme
May10Very high
Jun10Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug13Extreme
Sep12Extreme
Oct11Extreme
Nov9Very high
Dec6High

Average hourly UV index in Sofo-Birnin-Gwari

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 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)
Jan6.53.5
Feb6.54
Mar7.55.5
Apr7.55.5
May7.55.5
Jun85.5
Jul86
Aug86
Sep86
Oct7.55.5
Nov74.5
Dec62

Air quality in Sofo-Birnin-Gwari 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 Sofo-Birnin-Gwari is worst in February — around 117 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 4.9× the cleanest month (July, 24 µg/m³).

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

0306090120JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyPoorModeratePoorUnhealthyFeb 11116 µg/m³Jul 2324 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan112Unhealthy
Feb117Unhealthy
Mar103Unhealthy
Apr74Unhealthy
May43Poor
Jun34Moderate
Jul24Moderate
Aug24Moderate
Sep36Poor
Oct61Unhealthy
Nov84Unhealthy
Dec108Unhealthy
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Sofo-Birnin-Gwari 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. Sofo-Birnin-Gwari banks about 5,982 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around April.

02,0004,0006,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan456
Feb486
Mar618
Apr617
May577
Jun485
Jul452
Aug437
Sep443
Oct481
Nov473
Dec459

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.

Sofo-Birnin-Gwari receives about 5.7 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.0 and 7.0 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 7.4 months, from around Oct 16 to May 28. The brightest month is March, averaging about 6.9 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is August, down near 4.1 kWh/m² — roughly 41% less than the March peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbrighterdimmerbrighterdimmoderatebrightintenseMar 287.0 kWhAug 84.0 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan6.1Intense
Feb6.6Intense
Mar6.9Intense
Apr6.7Intense
May6.1Intense
Jun5.1Bright
Jul4.3Bright
Aug4.0Bright
Sep4.9Bright
Oct5.7Bright
Nov6.2Intense
Dec5.9Bright

Where is Sofo-Birnin-Gwari?

Sofo-Birnin-Gwari sits at 11.0°N, 6.8°E, 657 m above sea level, in Nigeria. The nearest listed city is Funtua, 81 km away.

FuntuaKadunaZariaTeginaMalumfashiGusauSobaZungeru

Topography around Sofo-Birnin-Gwari

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Sofo-Birnin-Gwari.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Sofo-Birnin-Gwari has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 190 m around an average of 559 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 303 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 536 m.

The land around Sofo-Birnin-Gwari is covered by shrubs (36%), trees (33%) and grassland (23%) within 3 km, shrubs (38%) and trees (27%) within 16 km, and cropland (41%) and shrubs (31%) within 80 km.

3 km
190 m
16 km
303 m
80 km
536 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandbare terrain
Nearby: Funtua 81 km · Kaduna 90 km · Zaria 103 km · Tegina 123 km · Malumfashi 126 km · Gusau 129 km · Soba 139 km · Zungeru 151 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 Sofo-Birnin-Gwari (11.0154°, 6.7804°, elevation 657 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).