Nairobi climate

Name: Nairobi
Address: KE

Nairobi is warmest in February, with average highs of 27 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 12 °C. April is the wettest month (122 mm) and July the driest (15 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Nairobi averages 656 mm of rain and 124 days above 25 °C.

Kenya · population 4,397,073 · 1991–2020 normals

Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month

Warmest month February 27 °C
Coldest month July 12 °C
Driest month July 15 mm
Wettest month April 122 mm
Least cloud February 52 % cloud
Hottest on record February 33 °C
Coldest on record July 8.2 °C

What to expectNairobi through the year

Nairobi has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 22 °C in July to 27 °C in February, a swing of 3.6 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 124 days a year reach 25 °C, 2 of them reach 30 °C. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 33 °C, in February.

Rain is strongly seasonal. April averages 122 mm against 15 mm in July — 8.4 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	25.6 °C	39 mm	53 %
February	26.9 °C	36 mm	52 %
March	26.5 °C	63 mm	59 %
April	24.5 °C	122 mm	76 %
May	23.3 °C	95 mm	73 %
June	22.2 °C	40 mm	77 %
July	21.8 °C	15 mm	77 %
August	22.3 °C	22 mm	75 %
September	24.3 °C	19 mm	63 %
October	25.0 °C	55 mm	68 %
November	23.2 °C	97 mm	76 %
December	23.9 °C	53 mm	61 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C
January	25.6 °C	14.4 °C	19.6 °C	31.2 °C	10.9 °C	20	0
February	26.9 °C	14.9 °C	20.5 °C	32.7 °C	11.4 °C	24	1
March	26.5 °C	15.5 °C	20.5 °C	31.6 °C	11.8 °C	24	1
April	24.5 °C	15.8 °C	19.4 °C	30.3 °C	12.8 °C	9	0
May	23.3 °C	14.8 °C	18.6 °C	27.1 °C	10.2 °C	2	0
June	22.2 °C	13.4 °C	17.7 °C	27.3 °C	9.6 °C	1	0
July	21.8 °C	12.3 °C	17.0 °C	27.1 °C	8.2 °C	2	0
August	22.3 °C	12.6 °C	17.2 °C	27.2 °C	9.1 °C	3	0
September	24.3 °C	13.1 °C	18.4 °C	29.0 °C	9.9 °C	12	0
October	25.0 °C	14.5 °C	19.3 °C	30.3 °C	11.0 °C	16	0
November	23.2 °C	14.8 °C	18.3 °C	28.0 °C	11.7 °C	3	0
December	23.9 °C	14.4 °C	18.6 °C	28.1 °C	11.0 °C	8	0

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	39 mm	7	12 h/day	53 %	65 %	17 km/h
February	36 mm	5	12 h/day	52 %	59 %	18 km/h
March	63 mm	10	12 h/day	59 %	64 %	18 km/h
April	122 mm	19	12 h/day	76 %	75 %	15 km/h
May	95 mm	16	12 h/day	73 %	76 %	13 km/h
June	40 mm	8	12 h/day	77 %	72 %	11 km/h
July	15 mm	3	12 h/day	77 %	68 %	11 km/h
August	22 mm	4	12 h/day	75 %	67 %	12 km/h
September	19 mm	4	12 h/day	63 %	63 %	14 km/h
October	55 mm	10	12 h/day	68 %	65 %	16 km/h
November	97 mm	18	12 h/day	76 %	78 %	16 km/h
December	53 mm	11	12 h/day	61 %	74 %	17 km/h

How Nairobi compares

The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.

Destination	Summer high	Winter low	Rain per year	Days above 25 °C
Nairobi	27 °C	12 °C	656 mm	124
Karuri · Kenya	25 °C	11 °C	691 mm	32
Ongata Rongai · Kenya	26 °C	12 °C	570 mm	95
Kikuyu · Kenya	25 °C	11 °C	639 mm	31
Ruiru · Kenya	27 °C	12 °C	648 mm	119
Kitengela · Kenya	27 °C	13 °C	668 mm	128
Limuru · Kenya	23 °C	9.0 °C	849 mm	9

Where Nairobi ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
Places with the best weather in Africa in August	5th of 50	97/100
Places with the best weather in the world in August	7th of 50	97/100
Places with the best weather in Africa in July	10th of 50	97/100
Places with the best weather in the world in July	16th of 50	97/100

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Nairobi.

QuestionsCommon questions about Nairobi’s climate

When is the best time to visit Nairobi?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. January, February, March sit closest to 20 °C on average, February is the warmest month and July the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Nairobi get?

In February, the warmest month, daily highs average 27 °C. About 2 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 33 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 12 °C in July, the coldest month. Freezing nights are not part of a normal year here.

Which month is wettest in Nairobi?

April, averaging 122 mm over 19 days with rain. The driest month is July with 15 mm. The year as a whole averages 656 mm.

Are these figures a forecast?

No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Nairobi rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.

Data sources and method

ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0

Normal period: 1991–2020
Data point: -1.283°, 36.817° (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.