Climate Zone Map

Sierra Leone climate zones

The most common zone is Am, tropical monsoon, covering 78% of the land in 1991 to 2020.

World map of Köppen-Geiger climate zones, 1991 to 2020Tap or scroll to load the interactive map

Period shown on the map
80%

Köppen-Geiger classes are based on 30-year averages of temperature and rain, not on the weather on any one day.

Key

A: Tropical

  • Af Tropical rainforest
  • Am Tropical monsoon
  • Aw Tropical savannah

B: Arid

  • BWh Hot desert
  • BWk Cold desert
  • BSh Hot semi-arid (steppe)
  • BSk Cold semi-arid (steppe)

C: Temperate

  • Csa Hot-summer Mediterranean
  • Csb Warm-summer Mediterranean
  • Csc Cold-summer Mediterranean
  • Cwa Humid subtropical with dry winter
  • Cwb Subtropical highland (dry winter)
  • Cwc Cold subtropical highland (dry winter)
  • Cfa Humid subtropical
  • Cfb Temperate oceanic
  • Cfc Subpolar oceanic

D: Cold (continental)

  • Dsa Hot-summer continental with dry summer
  • Dsb Warm-summer continental with dry summer
  • Dsc Subarctic with dry summer
  • Dsd Subarctic with dry summer and very cold winter
  • Dwa Hot-summer continental with dry winter
  • Dwb Warm-summer continental with dry winter
  • Dwc Subarctic with dry winter
  • Dwd Subarctic with dry winter and very cold winter
  • Dfa Hot-summer humid continental
  • Dfb Warm-summer humid continental
  • Dfc Subarctic (boreal)
  • Dfd Subarctic with very cold winter

E: Polar

  • ET Tundra
  • EF Ice cap (frost)

How to read the map. Each colour is a Köppen-Geiger climate class. The first letter is the major group (A tropical, B arid, C temperate, D cold, E polar); the other letters say how dry it is and how warm or cold. Tap anywhere to see the class under that spot in 1901 to 1930, 1991 to 2020 and, under three emissions scenarios, 2071 to 2099. The codes and names are always given in words, because colour alone is hard to tell apart for some people.

Climate zones in Sierra Leone, 1991 to 2020

Share of Sierra Leone's classified land in each Köppen-Geiger zone in 1991 to 2020. Zones under 0.05% are left out. The 84,539 map cells used cover 100% of the country's outline (about 71,773 km²).

Am Tropical monsoon78%
Aw Tropical savannah22%

By major group: A (tropical) 100%.

Am, tropical monsoon, is the main climate of Sierra Leone, covering 78% of its classified land in 1991 to 2020, with Aw (tropical savannah) next at 22%. In plain terms, tropical monsoon means hot all year, with a very wet season and a short dry spell. Under the middle-of-the-road scenario (SSP2-4.5), 5.6% of its land is projected to be in a different zone by 2071 to 2099, with the biggest gain going to Aw (tropical savannah).

How Sierra Leone's zones have changed and may change

Each row compares a map with 1991 to 2020. "Share in a different zone" is the share of the country's area whose class is different from 1991 to 2020. Future rows are model projections under an emissions scenario, not forecasts.

MapShare in a different zoneDifferent major groupBiggest gainBiggest loss
1901 to 1930 (past)21%0%Aw +20.7 percentage pointsAm -20.7 percentage points
2071 to 2099, SSP1-2.6 (low emissions)3.3%0%Aw +1 percentage pointAm -0.9 percentage points
2071 to 2099, SSP2-4.5 (middle of the road)5.6%0%Aw +5 percentage pointsAm -5 percentage points
2071 to 2099, SSP5-8.5 (high emissions)16%0%Aw +16.1 percentage pointsAm -16.1 percentage points

For the past row, the comparison runs the other way: the 1901 to 1930 map against 1991 to 2020.

Zone shares by map

Zone1901 to 19301991 to 2020SSP1-2.6 (2071 to 2099)SSP2-4.5 (2071 to 2099)SSP5-8.5 (2071 to 2099)
Am Tropical monsoon99%78%77%73%62%
Aw Tropical savannah0.9%22%23%27%38%

Percentages are of the country's classified land in each map. A dash means under 0.05%.

Cities in Sierra Leone and their climate zones

City1991 to 20202071 to 2099, SSP2-4.5
FreetownAm Tropical monsoonAm Tropical monsoon

Zones found in Sierra Leone

All countries · All climate zones

Data: Beck et al. (2023), CC BY 4.0; country outlines from Natural Earth. In 1901 to 1930 the most common zone was Am. See data sources and licences.

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