Climatology
This page presents Mali'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. Data for specific coordinates can be downloaded for in the Data Download page.
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 Malian climate is characterized by three seasons: a dry season in March to June, a rainy or wintering season from June to September and an off-season or cold season from October to February with a drying Saharan wind called the harmattan. The average temperature varies between 24°C in January and 35°C in May.
- Mean annual temperature has increased by 0.7°C since 1960, an average rate of 0.15°C per decade. The rate of increase is most rapid in the hot, dry season, April through June. Droughts have become more frequent, especially in the northern areas, which have seen increased migration.
- The frequency of days considered hot has not changed significantly in Mali, but the frequency of nights considered hot have increased significantly except during December to February.
- The trends in climatic parameters clearly showed a decrease in rainfall and a clear increase in annual mean temperature.