Africa Climate – June 2026 Update
Top 5 Countries: Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, South Africa, and Kenya
This month in numbers
Africa experienced a significantly warmer June, with a 1-month anomaly of +1.42°C above the 1961–1990 average. The continent's 3-month anomaly stands at +1.15°C, and the 12-month rolling anomaly is +1.23°C. This makes June 2026 the second-warmest June on record for Africa. Globally, June 2026 was the second-warmest June on record for land and ocean temperatures combined.
Hottest & coolest countries
Several African nations experienced unusually high temperatures in June. Morocco was the hottest, with an anomaly of +3.04°C, followed closely by South Sudan at +2.96°C and Uganda at +2.84°C. On the cooler side, Ghana recorded the lowest anomaly at +0.63°C, though still significantly warmer than the historical average.
What's driving change?
The current climate pattern is strongly influenced by a weak El Niño, with a 3-month anomaly of +0.98°C, and forecasts indicate a 100% probability of El Niño persisting through the end of 2026 ENSO. This El Niño event is expected to intensify, increasing the likelihood of extreme weather events globally. Africa is warming faster than the global average, and this June's warmth contributed to intensifying and expanding drought conditions across central and eastern parts of the continent due to increased evapotranspiration. Conversely, parts of West Africa, particularly along the Gulf of Guinea, experienced severe flooding in late June, with intense rainfall overwhelming drainage systems in countries like Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, and Nigeria. An attribution study concluded that human-caused climate change made the rainfall in West Africa roughly 40% more intense. The persistent heat stress across the continent is also a significant warming driver.
Looking ahead
Near to above-average temperatures are very likely across most parts of Africa during the July to October 2026 season.
Generated by Gemini from climate data and web sources
At a Glance
Temperature – Average
Climate Map – Global
Source: NOAA Climate at a Glance (countries & continents) · Met Office (UK) · US states & climate regions. Temperature anomalies are vs the 1961–1990 baseline. See methodology.
Hottest & Coolest in Africa this Month
1-month anomaly vs 1961–1990 across the 15 members we cover. Click a name to open its profile.
Warmest
- 1.🇲🇦Morocco+3.04°C
- 2.🇸🇸South Sudan+2.96°C
- 3.🇺🇬Uganda+2.84°C
- 4.🇩🇿Algeria+2.69°C
- 5.🇿🇦South Africa+2.04°C
Year-on-Year Trends
The 4byo Climate Helix – Africa
4byo continent aggregate · equal-weight mean of member country monthly absolute temperatures (OWID/CRU TS).
Africa – Monthly Temperature – All Years
4byo continent aggregate · equal-weight mean of member country monthly absolute temperatures (OWID/CRU TS).
Records – Africa
4byo continent aggregate · equal-weight mean of member country monthly absolute temperatures (OWID/CRU TS). - Anomalies vs 1901-2000 mean
Shifting Seasons
Wet / dry seasonsKöppen Aw · TropicalAfrica doesn't have a warm/cold cycle - its monthly temperature range is only 2.4°C across the year - but it does have a strong wet/dry cycle (the wettest month gets 2× as much rain as the driest). So we track how the wet season has shifted instead.
Monthly rainfall climatology. A “wet month” exceeds the baseline monthly mean (dashed gold line). Biggest month-to-month shift: Oct (+9 mm, +13%).
4byo continent aggregate · OWID/CRU TS country monthly temperatures & rainfall. Baseline: first 30 yrs on record. Recent: last 10 yrs on record.
Climate Systems
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Emissions & Energy
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Explore Climate Data
Data Sources
Data Sources for Africa
Every figure on this page is sourced from official, openly published climate datasets. Anomalies are calculated against the 1961–1990 baseline (temperature) and 1991–2020 (rainfall, sunshine, frost) - see the Methodology & Sources page for the complete dataset list and update calendar.
Continental land temperature anomaly. NOAA NCEI national & continental time series.
Country-level temperature anomaly, sourced from Copernicus ERA5 and Hadley HadCRUT5.
Annual country and global CO₂ emissions, from the Global Carbon Project.
FAQs
FAQs
How is the climate in Africa changing?
Africa is warming in line with the rest of the world. The page above shows the latest monthly temperature anomaly versus the 1961-1990 baseline, the long-term annual trend, and the region's rank in the historical record. The headline panel also shows the long-term trend rate per decade and the warmest and coolest years on file.
Where does the climate data for Africa come from?
Climate data for Africa comes from Our World in Data, sourcing Copernicus ERA5 and HadCRUT5 (national temperature anomaly) and the Global Carbon Project via Our World in Data (CO₂ emissions), refreshed every month, when the upstream temperature and rainfall data are refreshed.
What is the climate baseline used on this page?
Anomalies on this page are calculated against the 1961-1990 climatological baseline, which is the standard reference period used by the Met Office, NOAA, IPCC and most national climate services. Some panels also show the source-native 1901-2000 (NOAA) or 1991-2020 (WMO) baselines for verification. See Methodology & Sources for the full reference.
Which areas does the Africa climate data cover?
The Africa climate profile covers Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, South Africa and surrounding areas. Continental temperature trends from NOAA Climate at a Glance
How often is the Africa climate update refreshed?
The Africa climate update is refreshed monthly, typically a few days after the previous month closes and the upstream provider (Met Office HadUK-Grid, NOAA Climate at a Glance, Copernicus ERA5 or the Global Carbon Project) publishes its update. See the Climate Rankings for cross-region comparisons.