Butare weather in May

In May, Butare sees average daytime highs of 24°C and overnight lows near 15°C, with 48 mm of rain across 11.9 wet days and about 11.9 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 24°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 11% of the time in May, and the air most often feels comfortable.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 54 min at the start of May to 11 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Butare's 5th-clearest and 6th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Butare's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 24°; 11th warmest
Overnight low: 15°; 7th coldest
Rainfall: 48 mm; 11.9 wet days
Daylight: 11 h 54 min; 6:01 AM – 5:54 PM
Cloud cover: 70%; 5th clearest
Wind: 6 km/h; 6th windiest
Solar energy: 4.89 kWh/m²
Travel score: 6.5; out of 10

Butare is settlement in Rwanda.

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

← April Butare year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

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

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 24°C through the month.

A typical May day in Butare reaches about 24°C in the afternoon and slips back to 15°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 22°C and 26°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs on par with April and on par with June.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25
Avg low (°C)	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	24	15
2	24	15
3	24	15
4	24	15
5	24	15
6	24	15
7	24	15
8	24	15
9	24	15
10	24	15
11	24	15
12	24	15
13	24	15
14	24	15
15	24	15
16	24	15
17	24	15
18	24	15
19	24	15
20	24	15
21	24	15
22	24	15
23	24	15
24	25	15
25	25	15
26	25	15
27	25	15
28	25	15
29	25	15
30	25	15
31	25	15

Butare weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 11th-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	25° / 15°	72	15.1	12.1	5.7
Feb	26° / 15°	67	14.6	12.1	5.6
Mar	25° / 15°	91	18.7	12	5.2
Apr	24° / 15°	107	21.5	11.9	4.8
May	24° / 15°	48	11.9	11.9	6.5
Jun	25° / 14°	9	2.4	11.9	7.8
Jul	25° / 14°	3	0.8	11.9	8.0
Aug	26° / 15°	13	2.6	11.9	7.5
Sep	26° / 16°	31	7.5	12	6.7
Oct	25° / 15°	84	17	12.1	5.5
Nov	24° / 15°	96	21.1	12.1	4.9
Dec	25° / 15°	81	16.7	12.1	5.6

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 11% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 21% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 68%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	18	18	19	20	21	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	30	31	32	32	34	34	35	37	39	39	40	42	42	44	44	44	44	45
Cloudier (%)	82	82	81	80	79	79	78	77	76	75	74	73	72	70	69	68	68	66	66	65	63	61	61	60	58	58	56	56	56	56	55

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	18	82
2	18	82
3	19	81
4	20	80
5	21	79
6	21	79
7	22	78
8	23	77
9	24	76
10	25	75
11	26	74
12	27	73
13	28	72
14	30	70
15	31	69
16	32	68
17	32	68
18	34	66
19	34	66
20	35	65
21	37	63
22	39	61
23	39	61
24	40	60
25	42	58
26	42	58
27	44	56
28	44	56
29	44	56
30	44	56
31	45	55

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Butare gets around 48 mm of rain over 11.9 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 38% and peaks near 67% on the wettest days. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	67	66	65	63	62	61	59	57	55	53	50	48	45	43	40	38	35	33	30	28	25	23	21	19	17	16	15	14	13	13	12

	Rain chance (%)
1	67
2	66
3	65
4	63
5	62
6	61
7	59
8	57
9	55
10	53
11	50
12	48
13	45
14	43
15	40
16	38
17	35
18	33
19	30
20	28
21	25
22	23
23	21
24	19
25	17
26	16
27	15
28	14
29	13
30	13
31	12

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, May lands in the comfortable band about 61% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	3	3	4	4	5	5	6	6	7	8	9	9	10	11	12	13	15	16	17	18	20	22	24	26	28	31	33	35	38	40	43
Comfortable (%)	54	55	54	55	55	56	56	57	57	58	59	61	63	64	65	66	66	67	68	68	68	67	66	65	64	62	61	60	57	56	53
Humid (%)	43	42	42	41	40	39	38	37	36	34	32	30	27	25	23	21	19	17	15	14	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	5	4	4

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	3	54	43
2	3	55	42
3	4	54	42
4	4	55	41
5	5	55	40
6	5	56	39
7	6	56	38
8	6	57	37
9	7	57	36
10	8	58	34
11	9	59	32
12	9	61	30
13	10	63	27
14	11	64	25
15	12	65	23
16	13	66	21
17	15	66	19
18	16	67	17
19	17	68	15
20	18	68	14
21	20	68	12
22	22	67	11
23	24	66	10
24	26	65	9
25	28	64	8
26	31	62	7
27	33	61	6
28	35	60	5
29	38	57	5
30	40	56	4
31	43	53	4

Wind in May

Winds average 6 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 5 km/h on the calmest days to 6 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	5	calm
2	5	calm
3	5	calm
4	5	calm
5	5	calm
6	5	calm
7	5	calm
8	5	calm
9	5	calm
10	5	calm
11	5	calm
12	5	calm
13	5	calm
14	6	calm
15	6	calm
16	6	calm
17	6	calm
18	6	calm
19	6	calm
20	6	calm
21	6	calm
22	6	calm
23	6	calm
24	6	calm
25	6	calm
26	6	calm
27	6	calm
28	6	calm
29	6	calm
30	6	calm
31	6	calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

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

Days grow by about 0 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 6:01 AM to 6:03 AM, and sunset from 5:56 PM to 5:54 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9
Sunrise (AM)	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:02	6:02	6:02	6:02	6:02	6:02	6:02	6:03
Sunset (PM)	5:56	5:55	5:55	5:55	5:55	5:55	5:55	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:54

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.9	6:01	5:56
2	11.9	6:01	5:55
3	11.9	6:01	5:55
4	11.9	6:01	5:55
5	11.9	6:01	5:55
6	11.9	6:01	5:55
7	11.9	6:01	5:55
8	11.9	6:01	5:54
9	11.9	6:01	5:54
10	11.9	6:01	5:54
11	11.9	6:01	5:54
12	11.9	6:01	5:54
13	11.9	6:01	5:54
14	11.9	6:01	5:54
15	11.9	6:01	5:54
16	11.9	6:01	5:54
17	11.9	6:01	5:54
18	11.9	6:01	5:54
19	11.9	6:01	5:54
20	11.9	6:01	5:54
21	11.9	6:01	5:54
22	11.9	6:01	5:54
23	11.9	6:01	5:54
24	11.9	6:02	5:54
25	11.9	6:02	5:54
26	11.9	6:02	5:54
27	11.9	6:02	5:54
28	11.9	6:02	5:54
29	11.9	6:02	5:54
30	11.9	6:02	5:54
31	11.9	6:03	5:54

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 4.89 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.89 kWh/m² to a high of 5.81 kWh/m² in February across the year — May's 4.89 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.9	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	4.7	Bright
2	4.7	Bright
3	4.7	Bright
4	4.7	Bright
5	4.8	Bright
6	4.8	Bright
7	4.8	Bright
8	4.8	Bright
9	4.8	Bright
10	4.8	Bright
11	4.8	Bright
12	4.8	Bright
13	4.8	Bright
14	4.9	Bright
15	4.9	Bright
16	4.9	Bright
17	4.9	Bright
18	4.9	Bright
19	4.9	Bright
20	5.0	Bright
21	5.0	Bright
22	5.0	Bright
23	5.0	Bright
24	5.0	Bright
25	5.0	Bright
26	5.0	Bright
27	5.1	Bright
28	5.1	Bright
29	5.1	Bright
30	5.1	Bright
31	5.1	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Butare?

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

6.5

Sightseeing

5th-best month of the year

5.6

Beach & pool

5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Butare for sightseeing.

What to pack for Butare in May

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

In May, Butare sees daytime highs around 24°C and nights near 15°C. Worth packing: light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 12 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

UV index in Butare in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 13 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Butare peaks around March 18 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 21 at about 10 (extreme).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	11	15	17	16	13	10	11	11	14	14	13	11
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	11	Extreme
Feb	15	Extreme
Mar	17	Extreme
Apr	16	Extreme
May	13	Extreme
Jun	10	Extreme
Jul	11	Extreme
Aug	11	Extreme
Sep	14	Extreme
Oct	14	Extreme
Nov	13	Extreme
Dec	11	Extreme

Air quality in Butare in May

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Butare is worst in January — around 82 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	82	80	73	66	66	75	67	72	72	68	72	77
Level	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	82	Unhealthy
Feb	80	Unhealthy
Mar	73	Unhealthy
Apr	66	Unhealthy
May	66	Unhealthy
Jun	75	Unhealthy
Jul	67	Unhealthy
Aug	72	Unhealthy
Sep	72	Unhealthy
Oct	68	Unhealthy
Nov	72	Unhealthy
Dec	77	Unhealthy

Location & terrain

Where is Butare?

Butare sits at 2.6°S, 29.7°E, 1,769 m above sea level, in Rwanda. The nearest listed city is Gikongoro, 24 km away.

Topography around Butare

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Butare has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 209 m around an average of 1,710 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,012 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,146 m.

The land around Butare is covered by cropland (39%), trees (24%) and artificial surfaces (20%) within 3 km, cropland (51%) and grassland (34%) within 16 km, and cropland (34%), grassland (28%) and trees (27%) within 80 km.

3 km

209 m

cropland 39%

16 km

1,012 m

cropland 51%

80 km

2,146 m

cropland 34%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland

← April Butare year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

May weather nearby: Gikongoro 24 km · Nzega 24 km · Nyanza 27 km · Ngozi 36 km · Kayanza 38 km · Kirundo 40 km · Ruhango 42 km · Gitarama 58 km

Rwanda travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 3; Reconsider Travel
Power plugs: Type C / E / G; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 27% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $1,124; 2025
Happiness: 3.3 / 10; World Happiness, 2021
Homicide rate: 3.6; per 100k, 2020
Road deaths: 29.4; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Low; World Bank
English: Very low; EF EPI 417
Religion

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 Butare (-2.5967°, 29.7394°, elevation 1,769 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).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	24	15
2	24	15
3	24	15
4	24	15
5	24	15
6	24	15
7	24	15
8	24	15
9	24	15
10	24	15
11	24	15
12	24	15
13	24	15
14	24	15
15	24	15
16	24	15
17	24	15
18	24	15
19	24	15
20	24	15
21	24	15
22	24	15
23	24	15
24	25	15
25	25	15
26	25	15
27	25	15
28	25	15
29	25	15
30	25	15
31	25	15

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	18	82
2	18	82
3	19	81
4	20	80
5	21	79
6	21	79
7	22	78
8	23	77
9	24	76
10	25	75
11	26	74
12	27	73
13	28	72
14	30	70
15	31	69
16	32	68
17	32	68
18	34	66
19	34	66
20	35	65
21	37	63
22	39	61
23	39	61
24	40	60
25	42	58
26	42	58
27	44	56
28	44	56
29	44	56
30	44	56
31	45	55

	Rain chance (%)
1	67
2	66
3	65
4	63
5	62
6	61
7	59
8	57
9	55
10	53
11	50
12	48
13	45
14	43
15	40
16	38
17	35
18	33
19	30
20	28
21	25
22	23
23	21
24	19
25	17
26	16
27	15
28	14
29	13
30	13
31	12

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	3	54	43
2	3	55	42
3	4	54	42
4	4	55	41
5	5	55	40
6	5	56	39
7	6	56	38
8	6	57	37
9	7	57	36
10	8	58	34
11	9	59	32
12	9	61	30
13	10	63	27
14	11	64	25
15	12	65	23
16	13	66	21
17	15	66	19
18	16	67	17
19	17	68	15
20	18	68	14
21	20	68	12
22	22	67	11
23	24	66	10
24	26	65	9
25	28	64	8
26	31	62	7
27	33	61	6
28	35	60	5
29	38	57	5
30	40	56	4
31	43	53	4

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	24	15
2	24	15
3	24	15
4	24	15
5	24	15
6	24	15
7	24	15
8	24	15
9	24	15
10	24	15
11	24	15
12	24	15
13	24	15
14	24	15
15	24	15
16	24	15
17	24	15
18	24	15
19	24	15
20	24	15
21	24	15
22	24	15
23	24	15
24	25	15
25	25	15
26	25	15
27	25	15
28	25	15
29	25	15
30	25	15
31	25	15

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	18	82
2	18	82
3	19	81
4	20	80
5	21	79
6	21	79
7	22	78
8	23	77
9	24	76
10	25	75
11	26	74
12	27	73
13	28	72
14	30	70
15	31	69
16	32	68
17	32	68
18	34	66
19	34	66
20	35	65
21	37	63
22	39	61
23	39	61
24	40	60
25	42	58
26	42	58
27	44	56
28	44	56
29	44	56
30	44	56
31	45	55

	Rain chance (%)
1	67
2	66
3	65
4	63
5	62
6	61
7	59
8	57
9	55
10	53
11	50
12	48
13	45
14	43
15	40
16	38
17	35
18	33
19	30
20	28
21	25
22	23
23	21
24	19
25	17
26	16
27	15
28	14
29	13
30	13
31	12

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	3	54	43
2	3	55	42
3	4	54	42
4	4	55	41
5	5	55	40
6	5	56	39
7	6	56	38
8	6	57	37
9	7	57	36
10	8	58	34
11	9	59	32
12	9	61	30
13	10	63	27
14	11	64	25
15	12	65	23
16	13	66	21
17	15	66	19
18	16	67	17
19	17	68	15
20	18	68	14
21	20	68	12
22	22	67	11
23	24	66	10
24	26	65	9
25	28	64	8
26	31	62	7
27	33	61	6
28	35	60	5
29	38	57	5
30	40	56	4
31	43	53	4

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	24	15
2	24	15
3	24	15
4	24	15
5	24	15
6	24	15
7	24	15
8	24	15
9	24	15
10	24	15
11	24	15
12	24	15
13	24	15
14	24	15
15	24	15
16	24	15
17	24	15
18	24	15
19	24	15
20	24	15
21	24	15
22	24	15
23	24	15
24	25	15
25	25	15
26	25	15
27	25	15
28	25	15
29	25	15
30	25	15
31	25	15

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	18	82
2	18	82
3	19	81
4	20	80
5	21	79
6	21	79
7	22	78
8	23	77
9	24	76
10	25	75
11	26	74
12	27	73
13	28	72
14	30	70
15	31	69
16	32	68
17	32	68
18	34	66
19	34	66
20	35	65
21	37	63
22	39	61
23	39	61
24	40	60
25	42	58
26	42	58
27	44	56
28	44	56
29	44	56
30	44	56
31	45	55

	Rain chance (%)
1	67
2	66
3	65
4	63
5	62
6	61
7	59
8	57
9	55
10	53
11	50
12	48
13	45
14	43
15	40
16	38
17	35
18	33
19	30
20	28
21	25
22	23
23	21
24	19
25	17
26	16
27	15
28	14
29	13
30	13
31	12

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	3	54	43
2	3	55	42
3	4	54	42
4	4	55	41
5	5	55	40
6	5	56	39
7	6	56	38
8	6	57	37
9	7	57	36
10	8	58	34
11	9	59	32
12	9	61	30
13	10	63	27
14	11	64	25
15	12	65	23
16	13	66	21
17	15	66	19
18	16	67	17
19	17	68	15
20	18	68	14
21	20	68	12
22	22	67	11
23	24	66	10
24	26	65	9
25	28	64	8
26	31	62	7
27	33	61	6
28	35	60	5
29	38	57	5
30	40	56	4
31	43	53	4