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The climate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo is a country located in the central part of Africa. The country used to be known as Zaire and prior to that as Belgian Congo. Nowadays the country is known as Congo Kinshasa to distinguish between this country and the neighboring country of Congo Brazzaville. However, the country is more commonly known as the Democratic Republic of Congo which is often abbreviated to DR Congo or DRC. The country has a surface area of more than 2 million square kilometers and can geographically be divided into two parts. In the western part the lower situated Congo basin can be found. In the eastern and southern parts of the country high plains and mountains dominate the landscape. In this part of the country Mount Stanley can be found. This mountain has its peak at 5,109 meters above sea level and is part of the border with Uganda. The differences in altitude cause a varied climate within the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Climate information of places and areas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The climate information on this page is only brief. Specific information about weather and climate can be found on the climate pages per area or town. As for the Democratic Republic of the Congo the following climate information is available:

Climate types
Because the Democratic Republic of Congo is located in the vicinity of the equator the largest part of the country has a tropical climate. The central part of the Congo Basin has a tropical rainforest climate (type Af according to the Köppen Geiger climate classification) which changes into a tropical monsoon climate along the edges of the Congo Basin. The largest part of the rest of the country has a tropical savannah climate. The climate of the higher situated southern part of the country cannot be classified as a tropical climate. These regions have a warm China climate; the highest peaks have a moderate China climate. this is caused by the lower minimum temperatures that can be recorded here. On the peaks of the Rwenzori mountain range everlasting snow can be found which means this part of the country has a high mountain climate (type EH).

Rainy season
Where the rainy season is concerned the Democratic Republic of Congo can be divided into two parts. The region south of the equator has its rainy season from October till May. The region north of the equator has its rainy season from April till November. The central part of the Democratic Republic of Congo where Mbandaka is located has no distinct rainy season. Here, precipitation falls all year round with no distinct peak or dry period.

Climate figures
Throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo several climate figures and temperatures can be recorded. The figures below are for the capital Kinshasa and cannot be seen as an average for the country. For climate figures for other places and regions in the Democratic Republic of Congo please, visit the individual climate pages.

	average  maximum temperature (°C)	average minimum temperature (°C)	average hours of sunshine per day	average days with precipitation per month	average mm precipitation per month	average sea temperature (°C)
January	30	22	5	10		n/a
February	31	22	7	10		n/a
March	31	22	6	13		n/a
April	31	22	7	15		n/a
May	30	21	6	11		n/a
June	28	19	4	1		n/a
July	27	18	4	0		n/a
August	28	19	5	1		n/a
September	30	21	6	4		n/a
October	30	22	5	11		n/a
November	30	22	5	17		n/a
December	30	22	5	14		n/a
= 0-5 mm ● = 6-30 mm ● = 31-60 mm ● = 61-100 mm ● = 101-200 mm ● = over 200 mm = 0-0.2 inches ● = 0.2-1.2 inches ● = 1.2-2.4 inches ● = 2.5-4 inches ● = 4.1-8 inches ● = over 8 inches

More climate information
Climate tables are useful but they don’t give an overall picture of the climate and possible weather conditions during a period of time. How high the chances are of hot or cold weather or hurricanes can often not be found in these tables. This is why we offer extra climate information per month. The figures below are for the capital Kinshasa. For climate figures for other places and regions in the Democratic Republic of Congo please, visit the individual climate pages.

	chance of (very) hot weather	chance of (very) cool weather	chance of long-term precipitation	chance of hurricanes (cyclones)	chance of sunny days	UV-index
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
click here for the explanation of the symbols

Disclaimer
The information at this site was carefully composed from climate data collected by meteorological services, meteorological offices, climate experts and other sources. “More climate info” is based on statistics, climate data and personal experience. No rights can be derived from this site. Weather has no memory and gives no guaranties. Nothing is as changeable and unpredictable as the weather. The authors of this site feel in no way responsible for any damages caused by misinterpretation or other circumstances that may influence your holiday or trip to a certain destination. We provide information, it’s up to the reader to use it to it’s benefit.