Climate Change Chart of Cotonou, Benin

Overview of climate changes

Temperature changes

Averaged across calendar months, monthly mean temperature shows a difference of +1.05 °C in the more recent period; this is an unweighted mean of the month-by-month averages, not a day-weighted annual figure or a measure of daytime highs. November records the largest monthly increase in mean temperature, with a difference of +1.31 °C compared with the earlier reference period. This identifies the strongest increase among the supplied monthly differences, rather than describing every month.

Changes in rainfall

Averaged across calendar months, mean daily rainfall has a difference of -1.20 mm/day in the more recent period. This unweighted comparison of monthly means describes the overall pattern, not a change in monthly rainfall totals or a uniform shift in every month. The largest monthly decrease in mean daily rainfall occurred in April, with a difference of -3.10 mm/day. By contrast, June had the largest monthly increase, a difference of +0.12 mm/day; these are daily averages, not monthly accumulations.

Changes in sunshine duration

Averaged across calendar months, mean daily sunshine duration shows a difference of -0.15 hours/day compared with the earlier reference period. This is an unweighted average of the monthly means, so it does not imply the same change in each month. Monthly differences vary in direction: June had the largest decrease in mean daily sunshine, a difference of -0.79 hours/day, while August had the largest increase, a difference of +0.65 hours/day. These comparisons concern mean daily hours rather than total sunshine accumulated over a month.