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Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo, sits on the north bank of the Congo River, directly across the water from Kinshasa, in the south of the country a few degrees south of the equator at approximately -4.26°S, 15.28°E. It has a tropical wet-and-dry climate (Köppen Aw) — hot and humid — with a long rainy season and a distinct, cooler dry season, much like its neighbour across the river.
There is little seasonal change in temperature: it is hot and humid for most of the year, with daytime highs around 30–32°C and warm, muggy nights. The rainy season, from October to May, brings frequent heavy thunderstorms with two rainfall peaks around March–April and November–December, high humidity and abundant cloud. Being south of the equator, its seasons are reversed relative to the Northern Hemisphere.
The dry season, from June to September — the austral winter — is cooler and drier, with practically no rain and somewhat lower temperatures, though the skies are often grey and overcast rather than sunny and humidity remains noticeable. Nights are pleasantly cooler, and this dry, milder stretch is comfortably the best time of year, coinciding with the coolest weather.
Brazzaville receives on the order of 1,400–1,500 mm of rain a year, concentrated in the rainy season from October to May, with two peaks around March–April and November–December, while it practically never rains from June to August. Sunshine is limited, especially in the dry but cloudy winter months. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.
Brazzaville shares almost identical weather with Kinshasa, its twin capital just across the Congo River — the two cities form one of the closest pairs of national capitals in the world. Its climate follows the tropical pattern of a long, hot, humid rainy season with two rainfall peaks and a cooler, cloudier dry season from June to August, when the austral winter brings the year's most comfortable temperatures.
To follow any single measurement in Brazzaville 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.