Diani Beach Weather by Month: When the Long Rains and Short Rains Come, and When It Is Dry

What is the weather in Diani Beach, in one minute?

Diani Beach is hot and humid all year, with highs of 27° to 31°. What changes is the rain, and it has two seasons, not one: the long rains in April and May, when it rains on about half the days, and the short rains in November. January and February are the driest, hottest months, and June to October is a cooler, mostly dry stretch. Here is the year; a rainy day is a day with at least four millimetres, so a brief shower does not count:

Diani Beach: Average high and low temperature, °C

Diani Beach: Rainfall, mm

Averages 2015-2025 · Source: Open-Meteo, CHIRPS · How we measure

Read the rain line first: one huge peak in April and May, a smaller bump in November, and the rest low. The temperature band drops by about four degrees in the middle of the year. For one month at a time, the Diani Beach page is quicker.

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Which months are driest and best?

January and February. January has a 31° high, a 25° night and 21 mm of rain on about 2 days. February is the driest month, at 9 mm on about 1 day, and the clearest, hottest time at the coast.

March is still hot (31°) but the rain is coming back, with 74 mm on about 6 days. It is the start of the transition, and in some years the long rains arrive early.

If your priority is dry and hot, choose January and February. If you prefer less heat and can live with some wind, August and September are the driest of the cooler months, at 81 and 75 mm on 4 and 3 days, with highs of 27° to 28° and cloud under 50 percent.

When are the long rains?

April and May, by a distance. April has about 14 rainy days and 289 mm; May has about 14 and 397 mm, the wettest month in our data. Cloud covers 66 to 72 percent of the sky and humidity peaks at 83 percent. June is the end of it, with 122 mm. Avoid April and May unless you want low season and heavy storms; many places shut or discount.

When are the short rains?

November, with a tail into December. November has 208 mm on about 7 rainy days; October (126 mm) is the build-up. December drops to 81 mm but still counts about 8 rainy days, so December is not a reliable dry month, whatever the high-season prices suggest. The short rains are about half the size of the long rains: 208 mm in November against 397 mm in May.

What about the wind and the sea?

From May to July the wind is at its strongest, around 5 m/s on average against about 3 m/s in November and December. That is the south-east monsoon blowing. We hold wind averages, not sea conditions, so we cannot tell you about swell, seaweed or visibility for diving; check a local report for that.

How does Diani compare with other winter-sun bases?

Diani is hot in January and February with almost no rain. Here it is next to Cape Verde, the Atlantic alternative:

Cape Verde is several degrees cooler and stays dry through March. Diani is hotter and more humid, with the rain returning earlier. See Cape Verde weather by month for the Atlantic option, and Cape Town for the southern summer. For the world in January, see where is warm in January.

What would we do?

Come in January or February and plan work for early morning and evening, with air conditioning or at least a fan at night. These are also the busy months, so book ahead. Treat March and October as the edges and expect them to shift from year to year. In the long rains, storms can cause power and internet cuts, so ask your host about a backup. Weather is only part of a base here: the month you choose also changes what you pay and what is open.