Gambia
Weather locations in Gambia
Choose a location in Gambia to view its available forecast products.
Gambia illustrated weather map
5 mapped locations
Only locations with a verified coordinate are marked. The complete location list is below.
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Climate of Gambia
Country climate guideThe Gambia is a narrow country strung along both banks of the Senegal River, ending some 400 km upriver from the Atlantic. It sits at the shoulder of the Sahara, and the contrast between its wet summer and its dust-dry winter is among the sharpest in West Africa.
Main climate types
Köppen's scheme puts most of the country in a tropical savanna climate, with a short wet season and a long dry one. The coastal strip around Banjul is a warm, humid variant; moving inland the country gradually becomes drier, and the eastern border is at the edge of the Sahel. The defining feature of the dry months is the harmattan, a hot, dust-laden north-easterly that blows down from the Sahara between November and March, hazing the sky and cooling the nights.
Temperatures
Banjul averages about 25 °C in January and about 28 °C in July, and the range narrows inland where the savanna heats up more. The hottest month is usually April or May, immediately before the rains begin, when daily highs inland can sometimes reach the low 40s °C. The harmattan brings cooler nights in December and January, and temperatures inland can drop near 14 °C. Humidity is high in the wet season and low during the dry one.
Rainfall
Totals run from about 600 mm at the mouth of the Senegal to more than 1,200 mm in the south, near the Casamance border, and the interior savanna receives roughly 900 mm. Rain falls almost entirely between June and September, with July and August the peak, arriving in heavy afternoon storms and thundershowers. The dry season lasts six months or more, and the river itself, fed by the wetter upper basin, is at its lowest in May. Drought, not flood, is the recurring hazard here.
When to go
The dry season, from November to February, is the best time to visit: cool mornings, sunny days and the year's mildest temperatures. Humidity builds from March, and the rains from June to September can make rural roads difficult. The harmattan haze in January and February is dramatic but can affect air quality. March to May is the hottest period and is not comfortable for everyone.