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Douala, the largest city and economic capital of Cameroon, sits on the Gulf of Guinea coast near the mouth of the Wouri River, on low, humid ground not far from towering Mount Cameroon, at approximately 4.05°N, 9.77°E. It has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen Am) — hot, humid and among the wettest cities in Africa — with a hot, relatively drier season and a long, torrentially wet monsoon season, and essentially no cool season.
The wettest months come in the middle of the year, from June to October, when the Guinea monsoon drives moist ocean air against the coast and nearby Mount Cameroon, producing torrential, near-daily rain; August and September are extraordinarily wet, with monthly totals that can exceed 700 mm. Temperatures ease slightly under the cloud and rain, with highs around 28–30°C, but the humidity is relentless and oppressive.
The drier, hotter season runs from December to February, when rainfall eases — though it never truly stops — and the sun appears more often, pushing highs to around 31–32°C with sweltering humidity. Even the 'dry' months see substantial rain, over 80 mm, so there is no genuine dry season; this warmer, brighter stretch is nonetheless the most comfortable time to visit.
Douala is extremely wet, receiving on the order of 3,500–4,000 mm of rain a year — among the highest of any major African city — overwhelmingly concentrated in the monsoon months from June to October, when October is typically the wettest with nearly 380 mm; even the driest months see significant rain. Flooding is common in the rainy season. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.
Douala's enormous rainfall stems from the Guinea monsoon, whose moist ocean winds are forced upward by nearby Mount Cameroon — one of the wettest places on earth, with the volcano's flanks recording some of the highest rainfall totals anywhere. The city's low-lying, humid setting leaves it regularly flooded during the drenching monsoon, and its oppressive, sticky heat persists year-round with no real relief.
To follow any single measurement in Douala 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.