🇨🇫Central African Republic

The Central African Republic spans 2°13′–11°00′N landlocked at the geographic heart of the African continent, mostly rolling plateau 600–700 m sloping south to the Ubangi-Congo basin, with the Bongos massif rising to approximately 1,400 m in the northeast. The climate transitions from tropical savanna (Köppen Aw) across most of the country to a wetter tropical monsoon (Am) fringe in the southwest near Berbérati and Mbaïki, and a Sudano-Sahelian (BSh) hot semi-arid edge in the far north toward the Aouk plain.

Bangui averages 25°C year-round with 1,500 mm rainfall, experiencing a distinct wet season from April through October peaking in July and August, and a dry season from November to February. The southern forested fringe receives 1,700–1,900 mm with shorter dry seasons, while the northern savanna receives 800–1,000 mm with a sharply pronounced dry season from November to March under the harmattan.

ITCZ migration controls the rain band, and daily maxima reach 32–36°C in the late dry season from March to April. Flash floods occur on Ubangi and Sangha tributaries, and severe deforestation in the southwest, plus expanding agricultural pressure across the savanna belt, raise vulnerability to longer dry seasons and crop-failure risk.

Our archive covers 5 Central African cities with daily ERA5 reanalysis data going back to 1940. The warmest July averages occur in Bangui, around 29.6°C, while Berbérati records the coldest January nights near 18.6°C. Comparing the last decade against the 1940–1970 baseline, mean temperatures across these cities have risen by about 1°C.