Dakar weather by month

The best time to visit Dakar is January to March — 91/100 in February, 24°C and 0 rainy days. The best season is winter, December to February (87/100 on average).

The worst month is August at 58/100 — sweltering, rainy, muggy air. See August →

Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis

Planning the wider trip? Best time to visit Senegal →

Dakar🇸🇳 Senegal · Sahel & Cabo Verde · City91
  1. 89Jan
  2. 91Feb
  3. 90Mar
  4. 88Apr
  5. 83May
  6. 76Jun
  7. 70Jul
  8. 58Aug
  9. 60Sep
  10. 67Oct
  11. 74Nov
  12. 82Dec

Best season: December to February (87/100 on average) · worst August (58/100)

Days
24°C
Nights
19°C
Wet days
0
Sun
10.6 h
Humidity
56%
Daylight
12 h
Dakar, Senegal
Photo: Libasse El Arbi Ndoye · Pexels

Dakar, month by month

Comfort score out of 100 for the kind of trip Dakar is best for, the average high, rainy days and hours of sun a day from the climate normals, and how busy it tends to be.

MonthScoreTierHighRainSunCrowdsOn
Jan89A25°C0 d10 hBusy1
Feb91S24°C0 d11 hBusy1
Mar90S23°C0 d11 hBusy—
Apr88A24°C0 d12 hBusy1
May83A26°C0 d12 hBusy1
Jun76B29°C1 d12 hBusy1
Jul70B30°C5 d11 hBusy2
Aug58D30°C13 d10 hBusy2
Sep60C31°C12 d10 hQuiet1
Oct67C31°C2 d11 hQuiet—
Nov74B30°C0 d10 hShoulder1
Dec82A27°C0 d10 hShoulder2

What's on in Dakar through the year

Festivals, natural spectacles, holidays and the seasons to watch out for — curated and sourced. The month pages carry the detail.

April
  • Independence Day4 AprHoliday
May
  • Tabaski5 May – 5 Jun (usually)Holiday
July
  • Grand Magal de Touba10 Jul – 20 Aug (usually)Holiday
  • Hivernage10 Jul – 30 Sep (usually)Season
November
  • Dak'Art contemporary art biennial15 Nov – 20 Dec (usually)Festival
December
  • Saharan dust season1 Dec – 28 Feb (usually)Season

Everything on in Dakar through the year →

Crowds in Dakar in February

How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.

Busyschool holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather(estimated)

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet

Good to know before you go to Dakar

Real experiences from travellers' own write-ups, quoted with a link to the original.

Money

A traveler's practical rundown of Dakar warns that outside the Plateau business district and the upscale Almadies restaurants, this is a cash-first city: markets, taxis, minibuses, and street food all expect CFA francs, not cards. Her tip is to carry a mix of small bills for everyday purchases and always negotiate and agree on a taxi fare before getting in, since meters aren't the norm and prices are expected to be haggled, especially from the airport into the city.
There She Goes Again · Read the original ↗

Traveller notes on Dakar

What people who have been say about the place — the year-round notes first, then month by month.

Forum posters place March squarely in the dry season: daily highs of 25-32C with low humidity along the coast, though some years bring cooler, dustier spells from Harmattan winds sweeping in from the Sahara and turning the sky brown. By late March the weather is generally called lovely, with a shawl or light jumper recommended just for cooler evenings. One geographic note worth knowing: heading inland from the coast, both temperature and humidity climb noticeably compared to Dakar itself, so the coastal dry-season comfort doesn't necessarily extend far past the city.
Tripadvisor community · March · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
Forum posters describe September in Dakar as nearing the end of the rainy season, with storms when they happen typically lasting only around two hours rather than settling in for the day - posters generally reassure visitors not to worry too much about September weather in the city itself. Posters are direct that year-to-year variability is real, though: one particularly wet September brought record flooding to city streets with heavy rain continuing into October and high humidity throughout, while more recent visitor reports describe comparatively little rain in Dakar during September specifically. Posters consistently note that travelers heading south into Senegal's countryside should expect significantly heavier rain than in Dakar itself during this period. Posters generally rate September as a workable, if occasionally unpredictable, time to visit Dakar specifically.
Tripadvisor community · September · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗

Add your own note from Dakar's card on the map.