Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's largest city and main port, sits on the Indian Ocean coast of East Africa, on a low, humid coastal plain a few degrees south of the equator at approximately 6.79°S, 39.21°E. It has a tropical climate (Köppen Aw, bordering As) — hot and humid year-round — where the year is shaped not by temperature but by the alternation of wet and dry seasons driven by the monsoon winds off the ocean. Being in the Southern Hemisphere, its seasons are reversed relative to the Northern.

There is no summer in the temperate sense, but the hottest, most humid period runs from around December to March, with highs around 31–32°C and warm, sticky nights, tempered on the coast by sea breezes off the Indian Ocean. This hot spell coincides with the start of the main rains, and the combination of heat and high humidity can feel oppressive, though the ocean keeps temperatures from reaching the extremes of the interior.

Nor is there a true winter, but the coolest, most pleasant time comes during the long dry season from June to September, when the southeast monsoon brings slightly lower temperatures — highs around 29°C — lower humidity, drier air and reliable sea breezes. This comfortable, sunny stretch is comfortably the best time to visit, before the rains return.

Dar es Salaam receives around 1,000–1,100 mm of rain a year, falling in two seasons typical of coastal East Africa: the 'long rains' (masika) from March to May, when April is the wettest month with heavy downpours, and the shorter 'short rains' (vuli) around October to December. The long dry season from June to September sees little rain. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Dar es Salaam's weather is governed by the Indian Ocean monsoons, which set the rhythm of its two rainy seasons and bring the reliable sea breezes that make the humid heat bearable; the historic dhow trade of the Swahili coast was timed to these seasonal wind reversals. Lying just south of the main tropical cyclone belt, the coast is usually spared direct storm strikes, and its weather stays warm, humid and green throughout the year.

To follow any single measurement in Dar es Salaam 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.