Relationships between regional wind regimes, sand dune dynamics and dune migration rates are not well understood in many desert regions, and it is likely that these relationships also vary over time and space across individual deserts. This reflects the sensitivity of dune systems to climate forcing and thus the longevity of dune forms in the landscape. This study considers the relationship between wind regime and dune dynamics in Sossusvlei in the Namib Sand Sea, southwest Africa, for the period 2016–2021. Monthly wind speed and direction were calculated from daily wind data from a weather station at Namib-Naukluft Park. Drift potential was calculated using the average monthly wind data, based on Fryberger and Dean’s (1979) equation. Linear dunes present in the region were mapped from monthly Landsat 8 and Sentinel 2A images for study period and their patterns of movement were calculated based on mapping of the dune outline and crest line. Results show that the study area has a seasonally bimodal wind regime with westerly winds in summer and northeasterly/easterly winds in winter. Winter winds are stronger than summer winds. Analysis of dune migration shows that there was no consistent seasonal change in dune movement and that this takes place at roughly the same pace across the whole study area at an average rate of 22.53 m yr.−1. However, dune migration rates appear to be decreasing in recent years, by ~ 1.4 m yr.−1. This may be related to recent increases in atmospheric humidity, recorded in the weather station data. Ongoing climate changes have the potential to imprint on dune dynamics through not just wind regime but also rainfall, soil moisture content and vegetation growth.