Bujumbura, the largest city and former capital of Burundi, sits in the west of the country on the northeastern shore of Lake Tanganyika, on a lowland plain at around 775 metres above sea level and approximately 3.36°S, 29.36°E. Just a few degrees south of the equator, its relatively low altitude gives it a warm tropical climate — hot year-round with little seasonal temperature change — where the year is shaped by the alternation of wet and dry seasons rather than by hot and cold.

There is no summer in the temperate sense: temperatures stay warm and steady all year, with daytime highs around 29–31°C and warm nights, moderated a little by the lake. The hottest, sunniest spell tends to come around September and October, at the end of the long dry season and the start of the rains. The lake breeze offers some relief, but the lowland setting keeps Bujumbura consistently warmer than Burundi's cooler highland interior.

Nor is there a true winter, but the long dry season from June to August — the coolest, sunniest and most comfortable time — brings warm days and pleasantly cooler nights that can dip to around 18°C, occasionally lower. Rain is rare in these months, skies are clear, and this dry, bright stretch is comfortably the best time of year, before the humidity and rains return.

Bujumbura is moderately wet, receiving on the order of 800–850 mm of rain a year — less than Burundi's rainier highlands — falling in a long wet season from around September to May, with a peak in April, and a distinct dry season from June to August. The rains often come as heavy afternoon and evening downpours. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Bujumbura's weather is governed by its position on Lake Tanganyika and its relatively low altitude, which make it warmer than the cool Burundian plateau while the lake moderates its temperatures and feeds afternoon breezes. The rhythm of a long wet season and a clear June-to-August dry season sets the pattern of the year, and heavy downpours in the rains can trigger flooding on the lakeside plain.

To follow any single measurement in Bujumbura more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.