The climate in Saudi Arabia

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

It is warm or hot yearlong. The warmest and at the same time the rainiest historical region is Jizan. The coldest is Badiah.

Temperature records of the last 72 years

The hottest temperature measured from 1951 to January 2023 was reported by the Rafha weather station. In July 2020, the record temperature of 51.1 °C was reported here. The hottest summer from July to September, based on all 41 weather stations in Saudi Arabia below 2,090 meters altitude, was recorded in 2017 with an average temperature of 34.4 °C. This average temperature will normally be measured every four to six hours, thus also including the nights. Normally, this value is 32.8 degrees Celsius. The average maximum daily temperature at that time was 41.5 °C.

The coldest day in these 72 years was reported by the Turaif weather station. Here the temperature dropped to -6.0 °C in January 2022. Turaif lies at an altitude of 852 meters above sea level. The coldest winter (January to March) was in 1983 with an average temperature of 14.9 °C. In Saudi Arabia, it is usual to have about 3.1 degrees more at 18.1 °C for this three-month period.

The most precipitation fell in December 2009. With 30.0 mm per day, the Yenbo weather station recorded the highest monthly average of the last 72 years. Incidentally, the region with the most rainfall for the whole year is around Khamis Mushait. The driest region is near Wadi Al-Dawasir.

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 8 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 8 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 July 2017 at 35.1 °C. January 1992 was the coldest month with an average temperature of 13.7 °C.

The average annual temperature was about 24.6 °C in the years after 1991 and about 26.3 °C in the last years before 2022. So in less than 32 years, it has increased by about 1.7 °C. This trend only applies to the selected 8 weather stations in Saudi Arabia. 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.