🇧🇯Benin

Benin lies between 6°15′ and 12°25′N in West Africa, a narrow north–south country stretching roughly 120 km along the Atlantic coast of the Bight of Benin southward to the edge of the Sahel in the north. Elevation is modest throughout: coastal plains remain below 200 m, the central Savalou plateau rises to 200–400 m, and the Atacora ridge in the northwest reaches 600–700 m.

The south exhibits a bimodal tropical climate (Köppen Aw bordering Am) with long rains from April to July and short rains from September to October, separated by two dry seasons. This pattern transitions northward into a single Sudano-Sahelian wet season from May to September (BSh) in the far north.

Cotonou, the economic capital on the coast, averages around 27°C year-round with 1,300–1,400 mm of rainfall, peaking in June at over 350 mm. Central Parakou receives about 1,150 mm with a more unimodal April–October pattern, while the far north (Kandi and Malanville) records 850–1,000 mm concentrated in a sharp wet season and endures a severe dry season from November to March.

The harmattan — a dry, dusty northeast wind — sweeps through from December to February, suppressing temperatures and visibility, especially in the north. Coastal humidity remains above 80% year-round. Benin faces acute coastal erosion, with the Bight of Benin retreating at rates of 1.5–2 m per year, threatening infrastructure in Cotonou and Ouidah.

Our archive covers 0 Bahraini cities with daily ERA5 reanalysis data going back to 1940.