São Tomé climate

Name: São Tomé
Address: ST

São Tomé is warmest in March, with average highs of 29 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 24 °C. November is the wettest month (233 mm) and July the driest (17 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year São Tomé averages 1,491 mm of rain and 360 days above 25 °C.

Sao Tome and Principe · population 53,300 · 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 March 29 °C
Coldest month July 24 °C
Driest month July 17 mm
Wettest month November 233 mm
Least cloud June 68 % cloud
Hottest on record February 31 °C
Coldest on record July 20 °C
Warmest sea March 29 °C

What to expectSão Tomé through the year

São Tomé changes little through the year. Average daily highs stay between 26 and 29 °C, so no month stands out as a season in the way it would further from the equator.

Counted across a normal year, 360 days a year reach 25 °C, 3 of them reach 30 °C. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 31 °C, in February.

Rain is strongly seasonal. November averages 233 mm against 17 mm in July — 14 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

The sea off São Tomé is warmest in March at 29 °C and coldest in August at 26 °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	27.9 °C	150 mm	76 %
February	28.5 °C	127 mm	78 %
March	28.8 °C	149 mm	81 %
April	28.6 °C	146 mm	81 %
May	27.8 °C	135 mm	75 %
June	26.6 °C	30 mm	68 %
July	25.9 °C	17 mm	70 %
August	26.0 °C	32 mm	71 %
September	26.4 °C	82 mm	74 %
October	26.7 °C	200 mm	74 %
November	27.1 °C	233 mm	72 %
December	27.5 °C	191 mm	72 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C
January	27.9 °C	25.6 °C	26.8 °C	30.6 °C	23.0 °C	31	0
February	28.5 °C	26.1 °C	27.3 °C	31.3 °C	23.4 °C	28	1
March	28.8 °C	26.4 °C	27.7 °C	31.2 °C	24.0 °C	31	1
April	28.6 °C	26.4 °C	27.5 °C	31.3 °C	23.8 °C	30	1
May	27.8 °C	25.9 °C	26.8 °C	30.3 °C	23.3 °C	31	0
June	26.6 °C	24.7 °C	25.6 °C	29.4 °C	20.7 °C	30	0
July	25.9 °C	23.9 °C	24.8 °C	28.8 °C	20.0 °C	28	0
August	26.0 °C	24.0 °C	24.8 °C	29.2 °C	20.3 °C	29	0
September	26.4 °C	24.5 °C	25.3 °C	28.9 °C	22.3 °C	30	0
October	26.7 °C	24.9 °C	25.8 °C	29.2 °C	22.7 °C	31	0
November	27.1 °C	25.1 °C	26.1 °C	29.5 °C	23.2 °C	30	0
December	27.5 °C	25.4 °C	26.4 °C	30.0 °C	21.6 °C	31	0

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind	Sea temp
January	150 mm	24	12 h/day	76 %	83 %	16 km/h	28.5 °C
February	127 mm	20	12 h/day	78 %	82 %	17 km/h	28.8 °C
March	149 mm	21	12 h/day	81 %	82 %	17 km/h	29.2 °C
April	146 mm	19	12 h/day	81 %	82 %	17 km/h	29.0 °C
May	135 mm	18	12 h/day	75 %	83 %	19 km/h	28.2 °C
June	30 mm	5	12 h/day	68 %	81 %	22 km/h	26.7 °C
July	17 mm	4	12 h/day	70 %	80 %	22 km/h	25.8 °C
August	32 mm	5	12 h/day	71 %	81 %	22 km/h	25.6 °C
September	82 mm	11	12 h/day	74 %	82 %	21 km/h	26.0 °C
October	200 mm	22	12 h/day	74 %	84 %	19 km/h	26.8 °C
November	233 mm	25	12 h/day	72 %	85 %	18 km/h	27.5 °C
December	191 mm	26	12 h/day	72 %	84 %	17 km/h	28.0 °C

How São Tomé 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
São Tomé	29 °C	24 °C	1,491 mm	360
Port-Gentil · Gabon	29 °C	22 °C	2,252 mm	363
Libreville · Gabon	29 °C	23 °C	2,591 mm	364
Bata · Equatorial Guinea	29 °C	23 °C	2,689 mm	361
Malabo · Equatorial Guinea	29 °C	24 °C	2,926 mm	363
Ciudad de la Paz · Equatorial Guinea	29 °C	20 °C	2,665 mm	346
Douala · Cameroon	30 °C	23 °C	2,930 mm	356

Where São Tomé ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
Warmest sea temperatures in Africa in March	7thof 50	29 °C
Warmest sea temperatures in Africa in April	8thof 50	29 °C
Warmest sea temperatures in Africa in February	10thof 50	29 °C
Warmest sea temperatures in Africa in January	10thof 50	29 °C
Best beach destinations in Africa in July	12thof 50	97/100
Best beach destinations in Africa in August	19thof 50	95/100

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit São Tomé.

QuestionsCommon questions about São Tomé’s climate

When is the best time to visit São Tomé?

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

How hot does São Tomé get?

In March, the warmest month, daily highs average 29 °C. About 3 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 31 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 24 °C in July, the coldest month. Freezing nights are not part of a normal year here.

Which month is wettest in São Tomé?

November, averaging 233 mm over 25 days with rain. The driest month is July with 17 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,491 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 São Tomé 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
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.