Climate

Benin has a tropical climate with three climatic zones. The southern part of the country is coastland with little range in temperature. For example, Cotonou has an average of 28º C in May and 23º C in August. It rains for most of the year especially between May and October averaging 1340cm. The dry season is from December to April. The hot, dry Harmattan winds from the Sahara blows from December to March.

In the north, abutting the Sahel, the humidity is much lower, but the temperature is higher. The wet season is from July to October when it is much cooler and rainfall averages at 960mm. It is hot and dry between November and June.

Central Benin has two wet seasons – a short one between October and November and a lengthy one between March and June. The dry season is between November and March.