Weather in Mombasa in November

A hard month. November asks something of you. Go in knowing what. You should expect rain on 19 days of the month, which is more days wet than dry.

November ranks 12 of 12 — near the bottom of Mombasa's year. July is the month that works, and the swing between the two is 37 points, which is a different holiday rather than a slightly better one.

Rain on 19 days, 3 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Pack for 33.1 °C days and 24.1 °C nights; the spread matters more here than any single number.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: 28 days top 30 °C, making the heat continuous rather than occasional. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest November day reached 37.1 °C and the coldest night fell to 21.3 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 32 mm — roughly 31% of the month's rain in one day.

November is moderately variable: 29 mm in the driest year against 195 mm in the wettest, around an average of 104 mm. Roughly two Novembers in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind is light at 8.3 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity runs at 77%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How November sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 32.7 °C in October, 33.1 here, 34.1 in December. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much. Rain has already shifted: 6 days more than October had.

Daylight in November

Mombasa sits close enough to the equator that daylight barely moves all year — 12.3 hours in November, against a range of just 0.5 hours across the whole calendar. Sunrise and sunset land at roughly the same time whenever you come.

Sea temperature

The sea sits at about 28 °C in November — warm enough that the water offers no relief from the heat. The sea peaks at 29.4 °C in April and bottoms out at 25.7 °C — water lags the air by a month or two, which is why the best swimming often comes after the best weather.

How busy it gets

Off season. The genuine off season: cheapest by a distance, with the caveat that some tours and restaurants close entirely.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

November in Mombasa versus nearby

If Mombasa is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Zanzibar is a better bet in November — 3.8 °C cooler, 1 day less rain. Dar es Salaam is a better bet in November — 3.1 °C cooler, 1 day less rain.

So: November is a compromise. July is 37 points better and is what Mombasa is actually like at its best — worth moving the trip for if that is possible, and worth adjusting expectations for if it is not.

Every month in Mombasa

See all twelve months in Mombasa, or where else to go in November.