🇬🇦Gabon

Gabon spans about 2°N to 4°S across west-central Africa, a small equatorial nation of 267,667 km² with an 885 km Atlantic coastline and dense rainforest blanketing approximately 85% of the territory. Most of the country lies at modest elevations, punctuated by the Crystal Mountains northeast of Libreville and the Chaillu Massif in the south, with the highest point at Mont Bengoué, about 1,070 m.

The climate is uniformly equatorial, with tropical monsoon Am and tropical savanna Aw types, modulated by the cool Benguela current that tempers the southern shoreline.

Libreville, situated near the equator, has highs of 28–31°C and nights of 22–24°C year-round with 2,840 mm of rainfall falling in a long wet season from September through May, followed by the cool dry saison sèche from June to August. Port-Gentil on the coast receives approximately 1,950 mm annually.

Franceville sees about 1,860 mm, while Lopé National Park in the interior, in the rain shadow of the Chaillu Massif, is drier than the rest of Gabon. Relative humidity remains persistently high at 80 to 90% throughout the year. The Ogooué River system experiences seasonal flooding, and the coast faces mounting erosion stress. Sea-level rise poses a growing threat to Port-Gentil and Libreville's coastal infrastructure. ENSO modulation is modest at this equatorial latitude, though Atlantic sea-surface temperature variability influences dry-season intensity.

Our archive covers 3 Gabonese cities with daily ERA5 reanalysis data going back to 1940. Comparing the last decade against the 1940–1970 baseline, mean temperatures across these cities have risen by about 1.2°C.