Nouakchott climate

Name: Nouakchott
Address: MR

Nouakchott is warmest in October, with average highs of 35 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average 16 °C. September is the wettest month (19 mm) and April the driest (0.07 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Nouakchott averages 49 mm of rain and 344 days above 25 °C.

Mauritania · population 1,184,530 · 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 October 35 °C
Coldest month January 16 °C
Driest month April 0 mm
Wettest month September 19 mm
Least cloud June 18 % cloud
Hottest on record May 47 °C
Coldest on record January 9.7 °C
Warmest sea September 27 °C

What to expectNouakchott through the year

Nouakchott has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 27 °C in January to 35 °C in October, a swing of 8.1 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 344 days a year reach 25 °C, 219 of them reach 30 °C. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 47 °C, in May.

Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 0 mm in April to 19 mm in September. There is no dry season to aim for.

The sea off Nouakchott is warmest in September at 27 °C and coldest in April at 18 °C. Sea temperature lags the air by a month or two, which is why late summer swims warmer than early summer at the same air temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	26.8 °C	2 mm	38 %
February	28.6 °C	1 mm	36 %
March	30.7 °C	under 1 mm	26 %
April	31.8 °C	under 1 mm	26 %
May	33.1 °C	under 1 mm	20 %
June	33.7 °C	under 1 mm	18 %
July	30.8 °C	1 mm	23 %
August	31.6 °C	13 mm	38 %
September	33.7 °C	19 mm	37 %
October	34.8 °C	6 mm	32 %
November	31.9 °C	1 mm	45 %
December	28.2 °C	4 mm	45 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C
January	26.8 °C	15.8 °C	21.0 °C	35.2 °C	9.7 °C	23	3
February	28.6 °C	17.2 °C	22.5 °C	37.4 °C	11.9 °C	24	10
March	30.7 °C	18.4 °C	23.9 °C	44.4 °C	12.4 °C	28	18
April	31.8 °C	19.7 °C	24.9 °C	43.2 °C	14.8 °C	29	19
May	33.1 °C	21.5 °C	26.4 °C	46.8 °C	16.6 °C	30	24
June	33.7 °C	23.0 °C	27.6 °C	45.6 °C	17.4 °C	30	22
July	30.8 °C	23.6 °C	26.6 °C	46.0 °C	19.2 °C	31	15
August	31.6 °C	25.0 °C	27.8 °C	42.4 °C	20.9 °C	31	23
September	33.7 °C	25.7 °C	29.1 °C	43.4 °C	21.1 °C	30	27
October	34.8 °C	24.3 °C	28.9 °C	42.7 °C	18.4 °C	31	29
November	31.9 °C	20.8 °C	25.9 °C	39.2 °C	13.3 °C	30	22
December	28.2 °C	17.6 °C	22.5 °C	36.0 °C	10.5 °C	27	8

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind	Sea temp
January	2 mm	0	11 h/day	38 %	33 %	26 km/h	18.5 °C
February	1 mm	0	12 h/day	36 %	35 %	27 km/h	18.0 °C
March	under 1 mm	0	12 h/day	26 %	40 %	27 km/h	18.0 °C
April	under 1 mm	0	13 h/day	26 %	47 %	28 km/h	17.9 °C
May	under 1 mm	0	13 h/day	20 %	47 %	29 km/h	18.6 °C
June	under 1 mm	0	13 h/day	18 %	53 %	28 km/h	21.3 °C
July	1 mm	0	13 h/day	23 %	71 %	27 km/h	25.1 °C
August	13 mm	2	13 h/day	38 %	73 %	26 km/h	26.9 °C
September	19 mm	3	12 h/day	37 %	67 %	24 km/h	27.4 °C
October	6 mm	1	12 h/day	32 %	49 %	25 km/h	25.3 °C
November	1 mm	0	11 h/day	45 %	38 %	23 km/h	22.7 °C
December	4 mm	0	11 h/day	45 %	36 %	25 km/h	20.5 °C

How Nouakchott 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
Nouakchott	35 °C	16 °C	49 mm	344
Saint-Louis · Senegal	32 °C	18 °C	172 mm	338
Touba · Senegal	38 °C	17 °C	369 mm	365
Thiès · Senegal	34 °C	17 °C	355 mm	364
Thiès Nones · Senegal	33 °C	18 °C	355 mm	362
Diourbel · Senegal	37 °C	18 °C	388 mm	365
Rufisque · Senegal	32 °C	19 °C	292 mm	350

Where Nouakchott ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The driest places in Africa in May	9th of 50	0.1 mm
The driest places in the world in May	11th of 50	0.1 mm
The driest places in Africa in April	16th of 50	0.07 mm
The driest places in the world in April	16th of 50	0.07 mm
Best beach destinations in Africa in December	17th of 50	89/100
Best beach destinations in Africa in November	18th of 50	88/100

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

QuestionsCommon questions about Nouakchott’s climate

When is the best time to visit Nouakchott?

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

How hot does Nouakchott get?

In October, the warmest month, daily highs average 35 °C. About 219 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 47 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 16 °C in January, the coldest month. Freezing nights are not part of a normal year here.

Which month is wettest in Nouakchott?

September, averaging 19 mm over 3 days with rain. The driest month is April with 0 mm. The year as a whole averages 49 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 Nouakchott 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: 18.086°, -15.979° (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.