Climate Madagascar
You can travel to Madagascar all year round. The Malagasy climate varies strongly according to the regions. Indeed, the Big Island is crossed in the south by the Tropic of Capricorn... But the tropics are complex, and the influence of the relief, the vegetation and the winds has an incidence on the climate as well as on the seasons. Thus, the country is located between the equatorial low pressure (in the north) and the Indian Ocean anticyclone (in the southeast). In Madagascar, as in the whole southern hemisphere, there are usually two seasons which are reversed compared to those of the northern hemisphere. The southern summer lasts from November to March. It is also called the "rainy season". The southern winter lasts from April to October. This is the "dry season". We offer here a general overview of the seasons, followed by a presentation of the different climatic regions of Madagascar and the main lines of seasonality.
Rainy season versus dry season
The rainy season is characterized by a monsoon wind blowing from the northwest. Rainfall is abundant, especially on the east coast (subject to the southeast trade winds), but most often it is brief and the sun quickly returns. From late December to late February, cyclones can reach the east coast of the island and disrupt the overall climate. In March 2017, cyclone Enawo hit the northeast of the island for 4 days with a heavy toll of 50 deaths and 430,000 people affected.
During the dry season from April to October, temperatures vary between 30 to 40 °C on the coasts and 25 °C on the highlands. However, the temperature can drop even more in the mountains. There is no rain, with rare exceptions between November and March.
Madagascar is divided into 5 climatic zones
Center. Because of the altitude (from 700 meters to 1 500 meters), it is generally less hot in the Highlands than in the rest of the country. The nights are cool from March onwards. There can be great contrasts in temperature during the southern winter (25°C during the day and 5°C to 10°C at night). The rainy season takes place from November to April. This is the period when it is the hottest.
Average temperatures are as follows: January to February: 20°C, March to May: 25°C, June to July: 20°C, August to September: 20°C and October to December: 25°C.
East. The climate is tropical and humid. The rains follow one another all year long. They are sometimes very brief (less than an hour per day), but it also happens that they last several days. The rain can be torrential or on the contrary very fine, but it is rare that the sky remains covered for a long time; this gives a flourishing nature, marvellous orchids, a beautiful forest. May and September are the sunniest months.
Average temperatures are as follows: January to February: 25°C, March to April: 30°C, May to July: 20 to 25°C, August to September: 15°C, October to November: 20 to 25°C, December: 30°C.
West. The climate is tropical and dry. It rarely rains.
Average temperatures are as follows: January to February: 25°C, March to April: 30°C, May to October: 22 to 25°C, November to December: 30 to 32°C.
South. The climate is tropical, hot and dry. Europeans prefer to stay here in July and August, the coolest period. This is the region of the country where drought regularly affects agriculture. Rains are very rare (but cyclone Haruna hit this region hard in 2013).
Average temperatures are as follows: January: 20°C, February to May: 30°C, June to September: 25°C, October to December: 28 to 32°C.
North. The climate is tropical. During the rainy season, the rainfall waters the large areas of the North, up to Nosy Be, which benefits from a superb vegetation.
The average temperatures are as follows: from January to April: 25 to 30 °C, from May to July: 20 to 25 °C, from August to September: 15 to 20 °C.
About the cyclones in Madagascar
The southwestern region of the Indian Ocean is regularly crossed by storms and cyclones, coming from the east, during the cyclone season, between November and April. There are about ten of them every year. The most affected Malagasy regions are the coastal regions of Analanjirofo, Atsimo-Andrefana and Atsinanana.
Batsirai is the most violent cyclone to have made landfall in Madagascar in 2022. In early February, it reached a speed of up to 183 km/h with a diameter of 5 kilometers. According to the international Saffir-Simpson classification, this corresponded to a category 3 cyclone. In the open sea, speeds of up to 230 km/h were even measured.
Seasonality
Let's face it, Madagascar can be visited all year round. Some regions attract more people than others, depending on the period, for different reasons (dry season versus rainy season, whale season, cyclone season, end of year celebrations, windy season, etc.). But the reality is quite different and if the rain can be a serious obstacle in some areas, it is always possible to adapt one's stay, because in any case one has to make choices as the country is so vast. The RN7, for example, with the Isalo, are magnificent in March/April, when the landscapes are still full of green rice fields. In the same way, Sainte-Marie attracts more visitors when the whales are around, but it is obviously not the only interest of the island. We indicate you, below, the main axes of seasonality as an indication, but not exclusive. You will have understood, there are advantages in all seasons!
The second half of July and August is the high tourist season, corresponding to the summer vacations in Europe. Temperatures are much lower in the Highlands, but pleasant on the coasts, the weather is certainly more uncertain, the sea more capricious, but it is also the period of the whales on the east coast or the full season of the wind for the amateurs of kite in the North.
The period from mid-September to the end of November, as well as the end of year celebrations constitute the other pole of the tourist season. It is a different clientele. The weather is superb, it is warm, the rain is less abundant on the east coast, the water temperature is divine... Until November, in Nosy Be, divers will have the chance to meet whale sharks.
The months of April-May can be a good choice, as it is already the dry period. On the Highlands, it is the period of rice cultivation, and the show is magnificent. Beware, we can then encounter serious problems of accommodation in localized areas, like Nosy Be for example.
June is probably the slowest month of the year. Ideal if you do not want to meet many people.
In January, February and March, many travel agencies take the opportunity to revise their equipment, some hoteliers close, restructure their staff or restore their establishment. These are also the months of hurricanes on the east coast.
