The country has a tropical monsoon type of climate; however, there are four distinct seasons. A main rainy spring season from April to June is followed by a dry summer season from July to September. There is then a short autumn rainy period from October to November, and finally a long dry winter from December to March. The latter is the most difficult for the animal herding rural population and to the farmers to a lesser scale. If the April-June rains fail, the result is a drought that could kill most animals which have already been weakened by the December-March dry season, which also severely hits the country's economy.

Annual average precipitation ranges from less than 1000 mm on the coast to 500 mm inland except for limited areas where it may reach 900 mm. Rain variability is very high. Hargeisa, the capital, for instance, with a long term average of some 400 mm has recorded variations from 209 to 810 mm per annum.

Temperatures also show some seasonal variations. The winter months are normally cool with average December temperatures in the range of 15 - 26°C, while the summer months are the hottest averaging 26 - 32°C in June.

Government

Saturday - Thursday 7:00-13:00

Business

Saturday-Thursday-7:30-12:30, 16:00-20:00

Eid Al Fitri (after Ramadhan) 2 days

Eid Al Adha (after Hajj) 2 days

Birthday of Prophet (Mawliid) 1 day

Islamic New Year day 1 day

International Labour Day 1st of May

National days (18-19 may) 2 days

Independence Day (26june) 1 day