Climate and average weather in Zalinjay

In Zalinjay, the summers are sweltering, dry, and mostly clear and the winters are hot and mostly cloudy.

Best: mid November to late December

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Zalinjay typically varies from 14°C to 37°C, and is rarely below 10°C or above 39°C. April is the hottest month of the year, while August is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Zalinjay for warm-weather activities are from early January to late January and mid November to late December.

Hottest
Apr
37°
Coldest
Aug
20°
Wettest
Aug
220 mm
Driest
Jan
0 mm
Rain / yr
602 mm
91 wet days
Daylight
11.2–12.8 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
891 m
12.9°N
Clearest
Dec
21% cloud

Zalinjay is capital city in the state of Central Darfur, Sudan.

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

Zalinjay 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 mid November to late December.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 3.3 months, from March 2 to June 8, with daily high temperatures above 35°C. The hottest month of the year in Zalinjay is April, with an average high of 37°C and low of 21°C.

The cool season lasts 2.1 months, from July 12 to September 13, with daily high temperatures below 30°C. The coldest month of the year in Zalinjay is August, with an average low of 20°C and high of 28°C.

Days typically run about 14°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 18°C) in February.

10°15°20°25°30°35°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan3114
Feb3416
Mar3619
Apr3721
May3722
Jun3422
Jul3021
Aug2820
Sep3020
Oct3320
Nov3217
Dec3114

How hot and cold Zalinjay 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, Zalinjay feels like about 37°C (around April 18). About 223 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in April.

10°15°20°25°30°35°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdangerous heat
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan31311414
Feb34341616
Mar36361919
Apr37372121
May37372222
Jun34342222
Jul31302121
Aug30282020
Sep32302020
Oct33331920
Nov32321717
Dec31311414

Average hourly temperature in Zalinjay

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 April afternoons, near 37°C, and coldest before dawn in August, near 20°C.

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

Zalinjay 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
Jan31° / 14°0011.35.8
Feb34° / 16°0011.64.2
Mar36° / 19°10.211.92.7
Apr37° / 21°41.312.31.8
May37° / 22°26612.62.0
Jun34° / 22°6312.712.72.8
Jul30° / 21°1852412.73.4
Aug28° / 20°22026.212.43.6
Sep30° / 20°8315.612.14.2
Oct33° / 20°184.511.74.4
Nov32° / 17°0011.45.1
Dec31° / 14°0011.35.9

Chance of rain

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

Zalinjay gets about 602 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is some rain, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 4.4 months, from around May 26 to Oct 7, peaking in August at about 85% 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 220 mm over about 26 wet days; January is the driest, with 0 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetAug 9 · 85%Jan 1 · 0%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan00
Feb00
Mar10
Apr51
May196
Jun4313
Jul7724
Aug8326
Sep5216
Oct155
Nov00
Dec00

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Zalinjay collects about 602 mm of rain across 91 wet days — roughly 50 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 220 mm, while January is the driest at just 0 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 81% of the year’s total.

050100150200250JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec014266318522083180
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan00
Feb00
Mar10
Apr41
May266
Jun6313
Jul18524
Aug22026
Sep8316
Oct185
Nov00
Dec00

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Zalinjay, 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 5 and lasts for 8.1 months, ending around June 7. The clearest month is November, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 88% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around June 8 and lasts for 3.9 months, ending around October 4. The cloudiest month is August, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 74% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNov 17 · 90%Aug 7 · 21%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan8317
Feb8317
Mar7921
Apr8020
May7624
Jun6436
Jul3664
Aug2674
Sep5248
Oct7624
Nov8812
Dec8812

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 14, brings about 12 h 48 min of light; the shortest, around December 13, only 11 h 12 min — a swing of roughly 1 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan11.37:567:15
Feb11.67:547:28
Mar11.97:387:33
Apr12.37:187:35
May12.67:057:40
Jun12.77:047:49
Jul12.77:117:53
Aug12.47:177:43
Sep12.17:187:23
Oct11.77:207:02
Nov11.47:306:53
Dec11.37:457:00

Sunny days

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

Zalinjay averages about 16 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 1 and 24 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 7.7 months, from around Oct 7 to May 29. The sunniest month is December, with roughly 23 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is August, down near 2 sunny days — about 91% fewer than the December peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightbrilliantDec 124 daysAug 81 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan22Bright
Feb20Bright
Mar20Bright
Apr20Bright
May19Bright
Jun11Mixed
Jul4Gloomy
Aug2Gloomy
Sep9Mixed
Oct18Bright
Nov23Brilliant
Dec24Brilliant

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

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.6 months, from around May 27 to October 13. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 98% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 14 to May 26, and February 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecFeb 28 · 100%Jul 24 · 0%humiddrymuggycomfortablecomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan1000000
Feb1000000
Mar991100
Apr915400
May64131670
Jun181629370
Jul019881
Aug001972
Sep3513771
Oct561314170
Nov981000
Dec1000000

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 Zalinjay is typically calm, near 8 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.8 months, from around Oct 30 to May 25. The windiest month is March, averaging about 9 km/h (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 26 to Oct 29, with September the calmest month at about 5 km/h.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeMar 1 · 9 km/hSep 8 · 5 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan8calm
Feb9calm
Mar9calm
Apr9calm
May8calm
Jun7calm
Jul7calm
Aug6calm
Sep5calm
Oct7calm
Nov8calm
Dec8calm

Hazard calendar for Zalinjay

In seasonPeak

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

Zalinjay's monsoon runs July–August, when most of the year's rain falls.

Zalinjay sees seasonal dust haze (March–July), heaviest in April.

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

Best time to visit Zalinjay

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late November, Zalinjay 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 Zalinjay for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid November to late January, with a peak score in the first week of January.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJan 4 · 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
Jan5.8good
Feb4.2fair
Mar2.7poor
Apr1.8poor
May2.0poor
Jun2.8poor
Jul3.4poor
Aug3.6fair
Sep4.1fair
Oct4.4fair
Nov5.1fair
Dec5.9good

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

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationDec 27 · 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 Zalinjay, 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 April (highs near 37°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around August (highs near 28°C), pack light clothes, rain gear and sun protection.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In April, Zalinjay sees daytime highs around 37°C and nights near 21°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

UV index (midday) in Zalinjay 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 Zalinjay peaks around August 17 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 14 at about 9 (very high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highAug 17UV 13Dec 14UV 9
UV index (midday)Level
Jan11Extreme
Feb13Extreme
Mar12Extreme
Apr12Extreme
May11Extreme
Jun12Extreme
Jul10Very high
Aug13Extreme
Sep11Extreme
Oct11Extreme
Nov10Very high
Dec9Very high

Average hourly UV index in Zalinjay

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 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6.5 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)
Jan75
Feb7.56
Mar7.55.5
Apr86
May85.5
Jun86
Jul85.5
Aug8.56.5
Sep7.55.5
Oct7.55.5
Nov75
Dec6.54

Air quality in Zalinjay 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 Zalinjay is worst in March — around 55 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 2.9× the cleanest month (August, 19 µg/m³).

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

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModeratePoorModerateMar 1954 µg/m³Aug 2120 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan25Moderate
Feb37Poor
Mar55Poor
Apr47Poor
May36Poor
Jun33Moderate
Jul26Moderate
Aug19Moderate
Sep21Moderate
Oct25Moderate
Nov21Moderate
Dec22Moderate
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Zalinjay 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. Zalinjay banks about 5,736 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around May.

02,0004,0006,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan384
Feb412
Mar534
Apr571
May603
Jun543
Jul469
Aug438
Sep453
Oct497
Nov439
Dec392

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.

Zalinjay receives about 6.3 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — intense — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.9 and 7.5 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 4.6 months, from around Jan 24 to Jun 12. The brightest month is April, averaging about 7.5 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is August, down near 5.0 kWh/m² — roughly 32% less than the April peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseApr 67.5 kWhAug 34.9 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan6.2Intense
Feb6.7Intense
Mar7.3Intense
Apr7.5Intense
May7.0Intense
Jun6.2Intense
Jul5.2Bright
Aug5.0Bright
Sep5.8Bright
Oct6.3Intense
Nov6.3Intense
Dec6.0Bright

Where is Zalinjay?

Zalinjay sits at 12.9°N, 23.5°E, 891 m above sea level, in Sudan. The nearest listed city is Kas, 99 km away.

Kabkābīyah'ĀrdamatāAl-JunaynahEl Geneina FortAdréNyalaRahad al Bardi

Topography around Zalinjay

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Zalinjay has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 102 m around an average of 891 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 464 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,684 m.

The land around Zalinjay is covered by grassland (49%) and artificial surfaces (28%) within 3 km, grassland (84%) within 16 km, and grassland (74%) and shrubs (22%) within 80 km.

3 km
102 m
16 km
464 m
80 km
1,684 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
Nearby: Kas 99 km · Kabkābīyah 106 km · 'Ārdamatā 124 km · Al-Junaynah 126 km · El Geneina Fort 126 km · Adré 151 km · Nyala 181 km · Rahad al Bardi 184 km

Sudan travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 4
Do Not Travel
Power plugs
Type C / D / F / G
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 215% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$1,165
2025
Happiness
4.1 / 10
World Happiness, 2017
Homicide rate
5.1
per 100k, 2008
Road deaths
26.8
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Low
World Bank
English
Very low
EF EPI 421

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 Zalinjay (12.9092°, 23.4706°, elevation 891 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).