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This African country is a vast and very varied country, and consequently the climate of Ethiopia also varies considerably from place to place. There are areas of extreme dryness such as the Danakil belt and the Ogaden plateaus on the border with Somalia, which alternate with areas of abundant rainfall such as the mountains of the Ethiopian plateau and the Great Rift Valley area.
Much of Ethiopia, which is located at high altitudes, above 1,500 / 2,000 meters, has a healthy and mild climate, while areas below 1,200 meters have a humid and warm tropical climate.
The climate of the Ethiopian highlands is of a tropical mountain type with mild temperatures and three well delimited seasons: a dry season, between October and February, a relatively rainy and hot season between March and May, and a major rainy season between June and September.
On the highlands, the rains vary between 700 mm per year in the Tigray, 900 mm in the Sidama, 1,100 mm per year in the area of the capital Addis Ababa, 1,500 mm per year in the Amhara and Jimma. The rainiest areas of Ethiopia are the southwestern mountainous areas of Caffa where it can exceed 2,000 mm of rain per year. On the highest mountains the climate becomes alpine.
In Danakil and Ogaden the climate is instead semi-desert torrid and dry with almost zero rainfall and very high temperatures during the day and cold at night with strong differences in both daily and seasonal temperatures.
WHEN TO GO TO ETHIOPIA
The best time for a trip to Ethiopia are the months of the dry season between October and February. The months of intense rains between June and September are to be avoided.
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THE CLIMATE OF ETHIOPIA: CLIMATE TABLES
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CLIMATE TABLE FOR ADDIS ABEBA
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| ADDIS ABEBA (2355 meters) | ||||
| Month | Average low temperature (° C) | Average high temperature (°C) | Precip. (mm) | Precipitation days |
| January | 7,4 | 23,5 | 13 | 3 |
| February | 8,7 | 24,5 | 30 | 5 |
| March | 10,5 | 25,4 | 58 | 7 |
| April | 11,1 | 24,8 | 82 | 10 |
| May | 10,8 | 25,2 | 84 | 10 |
| June | 10,6 | 23,4 | 138 | 20 |
| July | 11,1 | 20,7 | 280 | 27 |
| August | 11,0 | 20,7 | 290 | 26 |
| September | 10,7 | 21,7 | 149 | 18 |
| October | 8,7 | 22,7 | 27 | 4 |
| November | 6,7 | 23,0 | 7 | 1 |
| December | 7,0 | 22,9 | 7 | 1 |
| YEAR | 9,5 | 23,2 | 1165 | 132 |
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CLIMATE TABLE FOR AWASSA
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| AWASSA (1708 meters) | ||||
| Month | Average low temperature (° C) | Average high temperature (°C) | Precip. (mm) | Precipitation days |
| January | 11 | 29 | 29 | 5 |
| February | 12 | 30 | 44 | 8 |
| March | 13 | 30 | 100 | 16 |
| April | 14 | 28 | 147 | 16 |
| May | 14 | 27 | 133 | 16 |
| June | 14 | 26 | 99 | 15 |
| July | 14 | 24 | 128 | 19 |
| August | 14 | 25 | 125 | 20 |
| September | 13 | 25 | 140 | 22 |
| October | 12 | 27 | 92 | 14 |
| November | 10 | 28 | 30 | 5 |
| December | 10 | 28 | 24 | 4 |
| YEAR | 12,6 | 27,3 | 1091 | 160 |
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CLIMATE TABLE FOR JIMMA
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| JIMMA (1780 meters) | ||||
| Month | Average low temperature (° C) | Average high temperature (°C) | Precip. (mm) | Precipitation days |
| January | 18 | 28 | 40 | 5 |
| February | 19 | 29 | 55 | 10 |
| March | 20 | 28 | 95 | 14 |
| April | 20 | 27 | 140 | 15 |
| May | 20 | 26 | 160 | 18 |
| June | 19 | 24 | 215 | 24 |
| July | 19 | 24 | 215 | 25 |
| August | 19 | 25 | 211 | 25 |
| September | 19 | 27 | 185 | 22 |
| October | 19 | 27 | 90 | 18 |
| November | 18 | 28 | 55 | 10 |
| December | 17 | 28 | 35 | 5 |
| YEAR | 18,9 | 26,8 | 1500 | 191 |
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CLIMATE TABLE FOR DIRE DAWA
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| DIRE DAWA (1276 meters) | ||||
| Month | Average low temperature (° C) | Average high temperature (°C) | Precip. (mm) | Precipitation days |
| January | 15,5 | 29,4 | 16,6 | |
| February | 16,6 | 31,5 | 55,2 | |
| March | 19,1 | 34,1 | 61,6 | |
| April | 20,4 | 32,7 | 74,8 | |
| May | 22,3 | 34,8 | 45,5 | |
| June | 22,8 | 35,9 | 15,6 | |
| July | 21,2 | 34,3 | 83,9 | |
| August | 20,2 | 32,9 | 87,7 | |
| September | 20,7 | 33,6 | 39,8 | |
| October | 18,7 | 33,6 | 24,8 | |
| November | 15,9 | 31,6 | 59,9 | |
| December | 15,0 | 29,6 | 17,8 | |
| YEAR | 19,0 | 32,8 | 583,2 |
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CLIMATE TABLE FOR BAHIR DAR
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| BAHIR DAR (1800 meters) | ||||
| Month | Average low temperature (° C) | Average high temperature (°C) | Precip. (mm) | Precipitation days |
| January | 8 | 29 | 2 | 1 |
| February | 9 | 31 | 2 | 1 |
| March | 11 | 32 | 12 | 2 |
| April | 13 | 32 | 28 | 3 |
| May | 13 | 32 | 80 | 10 |
| June | 13 | 29 | 205 | 18 |
| July | 13 | 26 | 396 | 28 |
| August | 13 | 25 | 375 | 28 |
| September | 12 | 26 | 211 | 20 |
| October | 12 | 27 | 87 | 10 |
| November | 10 | 28 | 12 | 3 |
| December | 8 | 28 | 6 | 1 |
| YEAR | 11,3 | 28,8 | 1416 | 125 |
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CLIMATE TABLE FOR MACALLÈ
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| MEK’ELE (MACALLÈ) (2084 meters) | ||||
| Month | Average low temperature (° C) | Average high temperature (°C) | Precip. (mm) | Precipitation days |
| January | 16 | 23 | 36 | |
| February | 17 | 24 | 10 | |
| March | 18 | 25 | 30 | |
| April | 19 | 26 | 46 | |
| May | 20 | 27 | 36 | |
| June | 20 | 27 | 30 | |
| July | 18 | 23 | 201 | |
| August | 17 | 23 | 216 | |
| September | 18 | 25 | 36 | |
| October | 17 | 24 | 10 | |
| November | 16 | 23 | 30 | |
| December | 15 | 22 | 41 | |
| YEAR | 18 | 24 | 706 |
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