The climate in Algeria

Climate zone: The northern parts of Algeria are in the subtropics, the southern regions are in the tropics.

For 7 months, the average temperatures are over 25 degrees. Pleasant water temperatures of up to 24 degrees even invite you to bathe in the warm season. The warmest and at the same time rainiest region is Ahaggar. The coldest is Alger. Due to the warmer temperatures, the best time for traveling is from July to August. Less attractive are the cold months from November to March.

Temperature records of the last 74 years

The hottest temperature measured from 1949 to January 2023 was reported by the Ouargla Airport weather station. In July 2018, the record temperature of 51.3 °C was reported here. The hottest summer from July to September, based on all 80 weather stations in Algeria below 1,360 meters altitude, was recorded in 1966 with an average temperature of 29.9 °C. This average temperature will normally be measured every four to six hours, thus also including the nights. Normally, this value is 28.0 degrees Celsius.

The coldest day in these 74 years was reported by the Mecheria weather station. Here the temperature dropped to -13.8 °C in January 2005. Mecheria lies at an altitude of 1,150 meters above sea level. The coldest winter (January to March) was in 2023 with an average temperature of 9.5 °C. In Algeria, it is usual to have about 2.3 degrees more at 11.8 °C for this three-month period.

The most precipitation fell in November 1988. With 15.9 mm per day, the Guelma weather station recorded the highest monthly average of the last 74 years. Incidentally, the region with the most rainfall for the whole year is around Jijel Port. The driest region is near Ain Salah Airport.

Long-term development of temperatures from 1991 - 2022

In contrast to single record values, long-term development cannot simply be brought about by all weather stations in the country. Both the number and the locations are constantly changing. An average value would give a distorted result. If several measuring stations in particularly cold mountain or coastal regions are added in one year, the average would decrease as a result of this alone. If a station fails during the summer or winter months, it does not provide any values and distorts the average again. The subsequent long-term development was therefore reduced to only 7 measuring points in order to have comparable data over as long a period as possible.

In the years 1991 to 2022, there were only these 7 weather stations in the whole country, which reported continuous temperature values. From these weather reports, we have created a long-term development that shows the monthly average temperatures. The hottest month in this entire period was August 1999 at 31.4 °C. January 2005 was the coldest month with an average temperature of 8.9 °C.

The average annual temperature was about 19.8 °C in the years after 1991 and about 20.9 °C in the last years before 2022. So in less than 32 years, it has increased by about 1.1 °C. This trend only applies to the selected 7 weather stations in Algeria. A considerably more comprehensive evaluation of global warming has been provided separately.

Data basis and methodology

The data from the individual measuring stations are based on the archives of the German Weather Service, individual values averaged and supplemented by own elements. In order to determine a representative national average, average values were first calculated for each part of the country, which were then summarized at the national level. Thus, if a disproportionate number of weather stations are located in a small area, their number does not affect the national average. There are 81 stations in Algeria itself. In 7 cases, neighboring but nearby weather stations were also used to obtain more accurate values.