Congo Climate
Top 5 Cities: Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, Dolisie, Nkayi, and Owando
This month in numbers
Congo experienced its 9th warmest April on record, with an average temperature of 26°C, which is 1.1°C above the 1961–1990 baseline. The period of February–April 2026 ranked as the 7th warmest on record, with an anomaly of +1.4°C. Globally, April 2026 was the 2nd warmest April for land temperatures, with an anomaly of +1.1°C, just shy of the all-time record set in April 2025.
What changed
The past three months have seen consistently above-average temperatures in Congo, with anomalies of +1.5°C in February and March, and +1.1°C in April. This warming trend aligns with the broader national picture, as 2025 was recorded as Congo's warmest year on record. The country's long-term trend shows a significant warming of +1.28°C compared to the 1961–1990 baseline.
What’s driving change?
The persistent warmth in Congo is influenced by the broader global warming trend, with land warming faster than ocean. The region is also experiencing significant extreme weather events. A drought, which began in December 2025, continued through May 2026, representing 100% of the drought events logged for Congo over the past 12 months, indicating an unusual concentration. Additionally, heavy and persistent rainfall led to severe flooding in Maniema Province, particularly Kindu City, when the Congo River overflowed its banks on 7 April 2026. Further flooding occurred in Uvira, South Kivu Province, in May due to heavy rainfall and rising water levels in Lake Tanganyika. More details on active extreme weather events can be found at Extreme Weather tracker.
Sources:
Generated by Gemini from climate data and web sources
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Data Sources
Data Sources for Congo
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.
FAQs
FAQs
How is the climate in Congo changing?
Congo 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 trend rate is shown as °C per decade in the headline panel; you can also see the warmest and coolest years on file.
Where does the climate data for Congo come from?
Climate data for Congo 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 Congo climate data cover?
The Congo climate profile covers Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, Dolisie, Nkayi and surrounding areas. Temperature, rainfall and emissions data for Congo
How often is the Congo climate update refreshed?
The Congo 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.