Geography and Climate
Bissau is located at 11°52' North, 15°36' West (11.86667, -15.60), on the Geba River estuary, off the Atlantic Ocean. The land surrounding Bissau is extremely low-lying, and the river is accessible to ocean-going vessels despite its modest discharge for about 80 kilometres (50 mi) beyond the city.
Bissau has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw), not quite wet enough to qualify as a tropical monsoon climate (Am) but much wetter than most climates of its type. Almost no rain falls from November to May, but during the remaining five months of the year the city receives around 2,020 millimetres (80 in) of rain, as compared to 3,784 millimetres (149.0 in) in Conakry and 1,296 millimetres (51.0 in) in Banjul to the north. During the wet season and even during the three months beforehand, high humidity makes heat discomfort extreme.
| Climate data for Bissau, Guinea-Bissau (1974-1994) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 36.7 (98.1) |
38.3 (100.9) |
38.9 (102.0) |
41.1 (106.0) |
39.4 (102.9) |
35.6 (96.1) |
33.3 (91.9) |
32.8 (91.0) |
33.9 (93.0) |
34.4 (93.9) |
35.0 (95.0) |
35.6 (96.1) |
41.1 (106.0) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 31.1 (88.0) |
32.8 (91.0) |
33.9 (93.0) |
33.3 (91.9) |
32.8 (91.0) |
31.1 (88.0) |
29.4 (84.9) |
30.0 (86.0) |
30.0 (86.0) |
31.1 (88.0) |
31.7 (89.1) |
30.6 (87.1) |
31.5 (88.7) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 17.8 (64.0) |
18.3 (64.9) |
19.4 (66.9) |
20.6 (69.1) |
22.2 (72.0) |
22.8 (73.0) |
22.8 (73.0) |
22.8 (73.0) |
22.8 (73.0) |
22.8 (73.0) |
22.2 (72.0) |
18.9 (66.0) |
21.1 (70.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 12.2 (54.0) |
13.3 (55.9) |
15.6 (60.1) |
16.7 (62.1) |
17.2 (63.0) |
19.4 (66.9) |
19.4 (66.9) |
19.4 (66.9) |
19.4 (66.9) |
20.0 (68.0) |
15.0 (59.0) |
12.8 (55.0) |
12.2 (54.0) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 0.5 (0.02) |
0.8 (0.031) |
0.5 (0.02) |
0.8 (0.031) |
17.3 (0.681) |
174.8 (6.882) |
472.5 (18.602) |
682.5 (26.87) |
434.9 (17.122) |
194.8 (7.669) |
41.4 (1.63) |
2.0 (0.079) |
2,022.8 (79.638) |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 248 | 226 | 279 | 270 | 248 | 210 | 186 | 155 | 180 | 217 | 240 | 248 | 2,707 |
| Source #1: Sistema de Clasificación Bioclimática Mundial | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: World Climate Guides (sunshine only) | |||||||||||||
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