HBBA METAR & TAF — Bujumbura Melchior Ndadaye International Airport
Bujumbura, Bujumbura Mairie Province, Burundi
Current METAR
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TAF
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Source: US NWS Aviation Weather Center. Informational only — always obtain an official briefing.
Airport data
| Name | Bujumbura Melchior Ndadaye International Airport |
|---|---|
| ICAO | HBBA |
| IATA | BJM |
| Elevation | 2,582 ft (787 m) |
| Coordinates | -3.3240, 29.3185 |
| Location | Bujumbura, Bujumbura Mairie Province, Burundi |
Reading the HBBA report like a briefing
Work through the raw line in its fixed order. First the timestamp — a METAR is stamped in UTC, so convert to local before judging how fresh it is. Then wind: direction in degrees true and speed in knots, which you can set against the runway orientation at Bujumbura Melchior Ndadaye International Airport to estimate the crosswind component before you even open a calculator. Visibility and present weather follow, then the cloud groups — the first broken or overcast layer sets the ceiling, measured above the field, which at Bujumbura Melchior Ndadaye International Airport lies 787 m above sea level. Temperature against dew point warns of fog and carburettor icing long before either shows up in the visibility group, and the QNH closes the line.
The wind dial beside the report turns to the live wind the moment the fetch completes, and the flight rules chip does the ceiling-and-visibility arithmetic for you. If any group in the raw line still reads like cipher, paste it into the METAR decoder for a field-by-field translation.
Reporting stations and airports near HBBA
When Bujumbura Melchior Ndadaye International Airport publishes no report or you need a regional picture, cross-check the surrounding fields — great-circle distances from the field reference point:
- HBBE Gitega Airport — 67 km (36 NM)
- HRZA Kamembe Airport — 106 km (57 NM)
- FZMA Bukavu Kavumu Airport — 126 km (68 NM)
- HRYR Kigali International Airport — 176 km (95 NM)
- HRYG Gisenyi Airport — 183 km (99 NM)
Beyond the METAR: completing the picture for HBBA
An observation is one input, not a briefing. Around the HBBA report you still want the TAF trend for your arrival window, NOTAMs for the field and route, winds aloft for the cruise, and any SIGMET activity along the way — none of which a surface observation carries. The airport reference side (elevation, runway dimensions, coordinates) lives on the airport information page linked above, and the surrounding stations listed above give the regional cross-check that a single report can never provide on its own.
Frequently asked questions about the HBBA METAR
How current is the METAR for HBBA?
The report on this page is fetched live from the US NWS Aviation Weather Center feed each time you open it. Most stations issue a new METAR every 30 or 60 minutes, plus SPECI reports when conditions change significantly.
How do I read the HBBA METAR?
Read it element by element: station and time in UTC, then wind (degrees true and knots), visibility, present weather, cloud layers in hundreds of feet, temperature and dew point, and QNH. This page decodes each element in plain language below the raw line, or you can paste any report into our METAR decoder.
What does the flight rules chip next to the HBBA report mean?
It condenses ceiling and visibility into one category. VFR means ceiling above 3,000 ft and visibility beyond 5 statute miles; MVFR, IFR and LIFR mark progressively lower limits — below 500 ft or 1 mile the station is LIFR.
Does HBBA also publish a TAF?
Where the aerodrome issues a terminal forecast it appears below the METAR, using the same coding with BECMG and TEMPO change groups, typically covering the next 24 to 30 hours. Smaller stations report observations only.