Climate and average weather in Musanze

In Musanze, the weather is warm, wet, and mostly cloudy and remarkably steady, with daytime highs holding near warm levels all year. The wettest stretch peaks around March.

Best: late May to late August

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Musanze typically varies from 13°C to 22°C, and is rarely below 11°C or above 24°C. August is the hottest month of the year, while May is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Musanze for warm-weather activities is from late May to late August.

Hottest
Aug
22°
Coldest
May
14°
Wettest
Mar
234 mm
Driest
Jul
19 mm
Rain / yr
1772 mm
216 wet days
Daylight
11.9–12.1 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
1,849 m
1.5°S
Clearest
Jul
69% cloud

Musanze is city.

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

Musanze 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 late August.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

Temperatures in Musanze stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is August, with an average high of 22°C and low of 13°C; the coolest is May, with an average low of 14°C and high of 21°C.

Days typically run about 8°C warmer than nights year-round.

10°15°20°25°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2213
Feb2213
Mar2214
Apr2114
May2114
Jun2113
Jul2213
Aug2213
Sep2213
Oct2113
Nov2113
Dec2113

Average hourly temperature in Musanze

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 August afternoons, near 22°C, and coldest before dawn in May, near 14°C.

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

Musanze 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
Jan22° / 13°18620.512.14.8
Feb22° / 13°16617.6125.0
Mar22° / 14°23424.9124.2
Apr21° / 14°20026.2123.8
May21° / 14°11818.811.95.0
Jun21° / 13°396.911.96.7
Jul22° / 13°193.711.97.3
Aug22° / 13°6710.3126.4
Sep22° / 13°11415.8125.5
Oct21° / 13°20123124.4
Nov21° / 13°22225.312.13.9
Dec21° / 13°20723.312.14.4

Chance of rain

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

Musanze gets about 1772 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is very wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 3.1 months, from around Feb 11 to May 16, peaking in April at about 88% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jul 10.

March is the wettest month by volume, with 234 mm over about 25 wet days; July is the driest, with 19 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetApr 15 · 88%Jul 10 · 9%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan6621
Feb6318
Mar8025
Apr8726
May6019
Jun237
Jul134
Aug3410
Sep5316
Oct7323
Nov8425
Dec7523

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Musanze collects about 1772 mm of rain across 216 wet days — roughly 148 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. March is the wettest month with 234 mm, while July is the driest at just 19 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 37% of the year’s total.

050100150200250JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec186166234200118391967114201222207
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan18621
Feb16618
Mar23425
Apr20026
May11819
Jun397
Jul194
Aug6710
Sep11416
Oct20123
Nov22225
Dec20723

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Musanze, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around May 15 and lasts for 4.5 months, ending around September 28. The clearest month is June, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 31% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 29 and lasts for 3.9 months, ending around January 24. The cloudiest month is November, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 91% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJun 2 · 36%Nov 12 · 7%mostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan1882
Feb1981
Mar1684
Apr1090
May2278
Jun3169
Jul3169
Aug2674
Sep2377
Oct1288
Nov991
Dec1783

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. Close to the equator, Musanze barely changes through the year: days stay near 12 h 06 min of light in every season.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan12.16:086:13
Feb12.06:156:18
Mar12.06:116:11
Apr12.06:036:01
May11.96:005:56
Jun11.96:045:59
Jul11.96:096:05
Aug12.06:076:04
Sep12.05:565:56
Oct12.05:455:47
Nov12.15:455:49
Dec12.15:556:00

Sunny days

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

Musanze averages about 2 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 0 and 4 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.4 months, from around May 19 to Sep 29. The sunniest month is June, with roughly 3 sunny days (gloomy).

The greyest month is November, down near 0 sunny days — about 89% fewer than the June peak.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedJun 34 daysNov 270 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan1Gloomy
Feb2Gloomy
Mar2Gloomy
Apr1Gloomy
May2Gloomy
Jun3Gloomy
Jul3Gloomy
Aug3Gloomy
Sep2Gloomy
Oct1Gloomy
Nov0Gloomy
Dec1Gloomy

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 Musanze, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in April, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 4% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccomfortabledry
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
Jan31681
Feb31671
Mar14842
Apr5924
May24751
Jun77230
Jul9640
Aug85150
Sep65350
Oct37630
Nov20800
Dec26740

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.

Wind in Musanze is steady company: average speeds sit near 5 km/hcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmJul 8 · 6 km/hDec 2 · 4 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan4calm
Feb5calm
Mar4calm
Apr5calm
May6calm
Jun6calm
Jul6calm
Aug6calm
Sep6calm
Oct5calm
Nov4calm
Dec4calm

Best time to visit Musanze

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late August, Musanze 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 Musanze for general outdoor tourist activities is from late May to late August, with a peak score in the second week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 11 · 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
Jan4.9fair
Feb5.0fair
Mar4.2fair
Apr3.8fair
May5.0fair
Jun6.7good
Jul7.2good
Aug6.4good
Sep5.5fair
Oct4.4fair
Nov4.0fair
Dec4.4fair

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 Musanze for hot-weather activities is from early June to early September, with a peak score in the third week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 15 · 5.0

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 Musanze, 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.

Musanze packs about the same all year — highs hold near 22°C. Across the year the things worth having are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Musanze sees daytime highs around 22°C and nights near 13°C. Worth packing: light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 10 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Musanze 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 Musanze peaks around March 17 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 23 at about 11 (extreme).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeMar 17UV 16Jun 23UV 11
UV index (midday)Level
Jan12Extreme
Feb16Extreme
Mar17Extreme
Apr16Extreme
May13Extreme
Jun11Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug11Extreme
Sep14Extreme
Oct14Extreme
Nov13Extreme
Dec11Extreme

Average hourly UV index in Musanze

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 March the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 7 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)
Jan86
Feb8.57
Mar8.57
Apr8.57
May86
Jun7.55.5
Jul7.55
Aug7.55.5
Sep86.5
Oct8.56.5
Nov86.5
Dec86

Air quality in Musanze 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 Musanze is worst in January — around 99 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

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

0306090120JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyJan 2299 µg/m³May 1181 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan99Unhealthy
Feb98Unhealthy
Mar88Unhealthy
Apr82Unhealthy
May80Unhealthy
Jun95Unhealthy
Jul91Unhealthy
Aug87Unhealthy
Sep83Unhealthy
Oct81Unhealthy
Nov86Unhealthy
Dec93Unhealthy
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Musanze 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. Musanze banks about 2,715 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

01,0002,0003,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan232
Feb217
Mar236
Apr222
May226
Jun217
Jul230
Aug243
Sep230
Oct227
Nov212
Dec223

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.

Musanze receives about 5.1 kWh/m² a day of solar energy — bright — and it stays remarkably steady, holding between 4.7 and 5.5 kWh/m² all year. For solar panels, output here is a flat line, not a seasonal wave.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmoderatebrightintenseMar 55.5 kWhMay 44.7 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan5.2Bright
Feb5.4Bright
Mar5.4Bright
Apr4.9Bright
May4.8Bright
Jun4.8Bright
Jul5.0Bright
Aug5.1Bright
Sep5.3Bright
Oct5.1Bright
Nov4.9Bright
Dec5.1Bright

Where is Musanze?

Musanze sits at 1.5°S, 29.6°E, 1,849 m above sea level, in Rwanda. The nearest listed city is Mukingo, 10 km away.

MukamiraKoraKisoroNgororeroRutshuruRubanda

Topography around Musanze

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Musanze has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 304 m around an average of 1,850 m above sea level; within 16 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,644 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,540 m.

The land around Musanze is covered by artificial surfaces (34%), trees (31%) and cropland (27%) within 3 km, trees (50%) and cropland (32%) within 16 km, and trees (36%), grassland (24%) and cropland (23%) within 80 km.

3 km
304 m
16 km
2,644 m
80 km
3,540 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Nearby: Mukingo 10 km · Busogo 12 km · Mukamira 20 km · Kora 24 km · Kisoro 24 km · Ngororero 40 km · Rutshuru 41 km · Rubanda 42 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
Catholic 40%Pentecostal 21%Protestant 15%Adventist 12%

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 Musanze (-1.4998°, 29.635°, elevation 1,849 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).