When to Visit Central African Republic

Central African Republic sits on the hinge between the Sahel's dry north and the equatorial forests of the south. That geography splits the year into two, not four, seasons. Half the year is wet. The other half is dry. Temperatures stay locked in the low-to-mid thirties Celsius, so rain, not heat, is the only variable that matters. Late November through February is the dry season, when monthly rainfall collapses to almost nothing. January is the driest month of the year, with barely ten millimetres across the whole month. The Harmattan sweeps in from the Sahara, dusting Bangui and the north in a yellow haze. Expect hot and dry, not cool and crisp. February hints at change. Humidity creeps back. Scattered showers return. March and April are the pivot months. Rainfall climbs steadily. May opens the long wet season that runs through October. August is the peak, dumping nearly nine inches in a single month. July and October are close seconds. Humidity hovers around seventy percent all year. But during the wet season it turns the air thick and close, around the capital. September and October are the heaviest months in the south of Central African Republic, where equatorial influence drags the rains on longer.