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Riyadh, Saudi Arabia climate
BWh Hot desert
Riyadh has a seasonal tropical climate (Hot desert, Köppen BWh). The hottest month is August with an average daily high near 44°C, while the coldest is January averaging around 9°C at night. Precipitation totals about 145 mm a year and is strongly seasonal — March alone averages 43 mm while June barely receives 0 mm.
Temperature & precipitation
Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figuresClear vs cloudy days
Share of days each month that are clear, partly cloudy or cloudy · 1991–2020 · hover a month for the day countsRiyadh climate normals (1991–2020)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 20 | 24 | 28 | 34 | 39 | 43 | 43 | 44 | 40 | 35 | 28 | 22 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 15 | 18 | 22 | 27 | 33 | 36 | 36 | 37 | 33 | 28 | 21 | 17 |
| Avg low (°C) | 9 | 11 | 15 | 21 | 26 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 26 | 21 | 15 | 11 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 23 | 5 | 43 | 32 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 14 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 20 | 24 | 28 | 34 | 39 | 43 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 15 | 18 | 22 | 27 | 33 | 36 |
| Avg low (°C) | 9 | 11 | 15 | 21 | 26 | 28 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 23 | 5 | 43 | 32 | 11 | 0 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 43 | 44 | 40 | 35 | 28 | 22 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 36 | 37 | 33 | 28 | 21 | 17 |
| Avg low (°C) | 29 | 29 | 26 | 21 | 15 | 11 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 14 |
How often — frequency of weather events
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 1 | 0.8 | 2 | 2 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 1 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | — | 0.8 | 5 | 14 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 3 | — |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | 0.2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 1 | 0.8 | 2 | 2 | 0.8 | 0.1 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | — | 0.8 | 5 | 14 | 21 | 21 |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | 0.2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 1 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 3 | — |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Sky & atmosphere
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 32 | 30 | 38 | 45 | 34 | 15 | 23 | 21 | 16 | 15 | 27 | 27 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 19 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 17 | 26 | 22 | 23 | 26 | 26 | 20 | 21 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 8 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 4 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 42 | 34 | 29 | 25 | 17 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 21 | 36 | 44 |
| Wind speed (km/h) | 9.7 | 10.5 | 10.9 | 11.1 | 10.2 | 11.3 | 11.7 | 10.3 | 8.7 | 8.2 | 9.0 | 9.1 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 32 | 30 | 38 | 45 | 34 | 15 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 19 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 17 | 26 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 8 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 4 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 4 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 0.5 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 42 | 34 | 29 | 25 | 17 | 11 |
| Wind speed (km/h) | 9.7 | 10.5 | 10.9 | 11.1 | 10.2 | 11.3 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 23 | 21 | 16 | 15 | 27 | 27 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 22 | 23 | 26 | 26 | 20 | 21 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 8 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 1 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 12 | 14 | 15 | 21 | 36 | 44 |
| Wind speed (km/h) | 11.7 | 10.3 | 8.7 | 8.2 | 9.0 | 9.1 |
Methodology & sources
Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 20 years of daily observations at Riyadh Obs. (o.a.p., a weather station, about 2 km from the city centre. The underlying daily records come from NOAA's global station network.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.