🇨🇲Cameroon

Cameroon (1°40′–13°05′N) in West/Central Africa is often called 'Africa in miniature' because it compresses the continent's full climate spectrum. Coastal lowlands rim the Gulf of Guinea, dominated by Mt Cameroon (4,040 m, West Africa's highest active volcano). The Adamawa plateau (about 1,000–1,100 m on average) runs east–west, with the Mandara mountains north and the dry northern plains reaching Lake Chad. Several Köppen zones coexist: tropical monsoon (Am) coastally, equatorial rainforest climates south, tropical savanna (Aw) centrally, hot semi-arid (BSh) far north, and cooler highland climates on elevated terrain.

Douala has highs of 28–33°C and nights around 23–24°C with 3,600 mm of rainfall (among Africa's wettest cities), peaking June–September during the West African monsoon. Debundscha at Mt Cameroon's foot receives around 10,000 mm annually, one of Earth's wettest spots. Yaoundé on the southern plateau (about 730–750 m) is milder, with highs of 27–32°C and nights around 19°C, with 1,600 mm split into two rainy seasons. Bamenda in the western highlands is cool, with highs of 22–27°C and nights of 13–17°C, with about 2,250 mm.

Maroua in the Sahelian north has highs of 31–40°C and nights of 17–26°C with 800 mm rainfall concentrated in July–September, followed by harmattan-dominated dry months. Cameroon experiences volcanic activity, with Mount Cameroon erupting in 1999 and 2000. The 1986 Lake Nyos limnic event resulted in gas release in the region. Ongoing threats include Sahel droughts affecting northern populations, the shrunken Lake Chad reducing water availability, and coastal erosion impacting southern regions.

Our archive covers 16 Cameroonian cities with daily ERA5 reanalysis data going back to 1940. The hottest July afternoons are in Kousséri, with average highs around 33.1°C, while Kumbo has the coldest January nights, with average lows near 12.9°C. Comparing the last decade against the 1940–1970 baseline, mean temperatures across these cities have risen by about 1.4°C.