The Weather and Climate in Mali

Mali experiences interplay of climates across the country. Basically, the north has arid climatic condition while the south is subtropical. This is attributed to the geographical settings which stretch from north to south. In turn, geographical diversity among the regions yields back to back climate differences.

Each half of the territory shares distinct natural zone defined by prevalent geography while leaving the midsection neutral. As a result, there are three climatic variations apparent in the nation. The north is characterized by arid Saharan desert hence the dry northern region. On the contrary, the south is characterized by subtropical lands hence the cultivated southern region. Amidst these regions though is the semi arid Sahelian central region which is relatively temperate against extreme climates on both ends.

As there are three distinctive climate zones, there exist three distinctive seasons, too. These include cool dry spell in October to January; hot dry spell in February to May; and wet spell in June to September. This simply implies that dry season is likely to be observed covering eight-month period of the year leaving only four-month period of rainfall.

In particular, Bemanko which is the capital city of the Republic exhibits an interesting climate. Temperature is fairly stable at 28°C all throughout the year with minimal variance from time to time then taking its peak in April at 39°C and its depth in January and December at 16°C. Annual precipitation only reaches 1098mm which is highly evident in August with 311mm rain outpour. Humidity has an annual record of 43% which goes hand in hand with the rainfall trend likewise occurring the most in August at 74%.