Most of the previous analyses of climate of Nigeria have been for agricultural use or weather prediction purposes. They have little or no application for building design. This paper examines and analyses the climate of Nigeria with respect to building design parameters - temperature, relative humidity, air velocity and solar radiation, with a view to providing design recommendations for the achievement of physiological comfort. It accesses the current methods of climatic analysis with respect to building design. It then develops bioclimatic charts for various cities for the country using a combination of a general atmospheric circulation model approach and control potential techniques, Finally, design recommendations are then suggested for typical cities in the country. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.