Dakar - Post Report Question and Answers
What is the overall climate: is it extremely hot or cold, wet or dry, at any time of year, for example?
Moderate for about half the year (Dec - April). Warm, but not hot from May - Nov. Much less humid than Southeast Asia. - Oct 2024
There is a wet and dry season. In Dakar it doesn't get colder than 63 degrees during the "winter" dry season and it can get as hot as 95 degrees during the wet "summer" season. Winter (coldest months) is generally from January - March. Summer (hottest months) from September - November. Wet season is supposed to run from June - November but climate change is altering that. - Apr 2022
Most of the year, it is sunny and nice. It’s not very humid. The rainy season is the worst time. It only rains a few days out of the year, but the city streets can quickly flood and the winds can do a lot of damage to trees. - Jul 2020
Hot and dry during the summer months and surprisingly cool (think 60F/15C) during winter – and it can feel even colder when the wind is blowing! Most people equate the temperature to southern California or San Diego. - Dec 2019
August/September can be very hot. Dec/March can be pleasant and a little cool in the evenings. Gets dry and and humid. - Dec 2018
Summer is hot, but October - December is the worst, as it's the hottest time of the year. The temp is humid and can reach to over 100 degrees. Mid December - May is nice... kind of like a fall or cool summer. - Dec 2018
July-October is very hot, 90s is common, with high humidity. August and September are the rainiest, but it can rain earlier too. November-June is very comfortable, though we have 3-4 months when it's particularly dusty. - Jun 2017
December - March is the cooler and windier season, with low humidity but 15 - 20 mph winds every day. Temps are around 70F. April - early July is beautiful with breezes and upper 70s to lower 80s F. The rains can start in July, but don't really get going until August. Then it is hot and humid, with temperatures creeping up to peak in September and October (upper 80s and lower 90s with high humidity). October is just sticky hot and kindof uncomfortable. November is amazing again. - Apr 2016
Weather is nice. It's hot and humid for a few months in the Northern Hemisphere summer, but probably milder than you would think the other months. Occasionally in the winter you might need a long sleeve shirt at night. It's semi-arid, so there's lots of sun and little rain. - Aug 2015
There is one rainy season which typically lasts from June to September (occasionally into October). It's pretty warm (upper 80s F) and humid during this time. The hottest month of the year is October making Halloween a bit of a sweaty mess. Mid-November, the humidity breaks and the weather turns beautiful until the rains start again. The highs are upper 70s (maybe 80 on a warm day) and the nights are cool, especially when you are near the ocean. The Harmattan winds start in January, but they aren't bad. You may just notice some extra dust on the furniture. - Aug 2014
It's always warm. However, part of the time (August-November), warm becomes hellishly hot. Sweat standing still kind of hot. It rains in July-September or October and then the dust gets washed away, things become green...however, part of the road drainage system was built a century ago, so roads flood. Once it rains, it's briefly cooler, then very humid. Once it stops raining, it's humid and hot. However - in mid November or so, it starts to cool down, then eventually, the wind picks up and it really cools off. You can wear long sleeves and sweaters. Senegalese wear parkas! - Apr 2014
October to April is pretty good in the 70's or 80's. Occasionally at night you may need a jacket. Starting in May, the heat and humidity really pick up, and you can't be outside for 5 minutes without developing a serious case of back sweat. Storms start in July and will cause flooding on the streets and in your home/apartment. - Jun 2013
Hot to warm to mild. Humid. There are a few months a year when it's downright pleasant --- and even chilly at night (definitely bring a few sweaters and a jacket). But it's never cold and in the warm months, it's very hot. This is all for Dakar. Outside of Dakar it can be unbearable. Rainy season generally lasts just a few months, but this past year, it seemed like it hardly rained at all. - Mar 2013
During the months from Nov to March/April, it is usually 70s F. and zero chance of rain. From April/May to October, it is really hot, and it rains every day or so from July to September. You get some really exciting thunderstorms, but they're not much fun if you have a ground floor apartment or house and it floods. - Oct 2012
Sunny with low humidity from November-May. January and February can be very windy and, thus, dusty. Summer is very humid and there are some infrequent downpours during the "rainy" season -- often it looks like it will rain any minute, but does not. September, and especially October, are unbearably hot and humid, and then it just magically improves. - Mar 2012
Hot with blue skies for most of the year or hot and humid for the 'rainy' season. The locals wear jackets in winter but i have never had to wear anything more than a shirt even in 'winter'.It is hot here - even in winter the temperatures exceed 30C during the day. - Aug 2011
Hot and humid from June-October/November. Cools down with very little himidity from December-April/May. - Feb 2010
Hot at one point but then it cools down. Considered very nice by most people. However, the rainy season resulted in pretty severe flooding in Dakar. The flooding required cars to go through pretty deep water on some streets. - Feb 2010
Very good climate. Rainy season (July to Oct) means it MIGHT rain! It can take 7 days between each rain even in the rainy season. Strong wind (Harmattan) in January and February. October is the hottest month. December/January are the coldest (15 to 25 degree celsius depending on the years) - Jan 2010
The rainy season is July - Oct. The rest of time the climate is great. - May 2009
