Climatology
This page presents Guinea-Bissau's climate context for the current climatology, 1991-2020, derived from observed, historical data. Information should be used to build a strong understanding of current climate conditions in order to appreciate future climate scenarios and projected change. You can visualize data for the current climatology through spatial variation, the seasonal cycle, or as a time series. Analysis is available for both annual and seasonal data. Data presentation defaults to national-scale aggregation, however sub-national data aggregations can be accessed by clicking within a country, on a sub-national unit. Other historical climatologies can be selected from the Time Period dropdown list.
Observed, historical data is produced by the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of University of East Anglia. Data is presented at a 0.5º x 0.5º (50km x 50km) resolution.
The country lies in the humid tropics within the tropical zone, between the equator and the Tropic of Cancer, and between the Atlantic Ocean and the Sudanese-Sahelian continental block. The country is subject to the movements and impacts of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which migrates between the equator and the Tropic of Cancer over the course of the year broadly dictating its seasons. There are two pronounced seasons in Guinea-Bissau: the hot, rainy season, which lasts from May to November, and the hot, dry season from November to April. Temperatures range between 21.6°C and 39.3°C (monthly average: 30.5°C) in April and May, just before the rainy season, between 21.1°C and 31.5°C (monthly average: 26.3°C) in August and November and between 16.5°C and 38.5°C (monthly average: 27.7°C) in December to March. The climate of Guinea-Bissau is humid on the coastal central and southern territory (relative humidity between 62 and 87%) and drier in the rest of the territory (relative humidity between 58 and 68%). Precipitation does not vary greatly with elevation in Guinea-Bissau, although it does vary between coastal and inland areas; the coast displaying a tropical maritime condition receives some 60 to 120 inches (1,500 to 3,000 mm / year) of precipitation, whereas the interior is influenced by the tropical savanna climate, with greater variation in precipitation and temperature.