Basrah climate

Name: Basrah
Address: IQ

Basrah is warmest in August, with average highs of 47 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average 7.6 °C. January is the wettest month (34 mm) and July the driest (0.08 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Basrah averages 156 mm of rain, 257 days above 25 °C and 0 days below freezing.

Iraq · population 1,326,564 · 1991–2020 normals

Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month

Warmest month August 47 °C
Coldest month January 7.6 °C
Driest month July 0 mm
Wettest month January 34 mm
Least cloud July 2 % cloud
Hottest on record July 53 °C
Coldest on record January -1.2 °C

What to expectBasrah through the year

Basrah has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 18 °C in January to 47 °C in August, a swing of 27 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 257 days a year reach 25 °C, 218 of them reach 30 °C, 0 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 53 °C, in July.

Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 0 mm in July to 34 mm in January. There is no dry season to aim for.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	18.1 °C	34 mm	36 %
February	21.2 °C	17 mm	29 %
March	26.6 °C	25 mm	30 %
April	33.5 °C	10 mm	34 %
May	40.4 °C	4 mm	24 %
June	45.0 °C	under 1 mm	3 %
July	46.7 °C	under 1 mm	2 %
August	46.7 °C	under 1 mm	2 %
September	42.9 °C	under 1 mm	2 %
October	36.3 °C	6 mm	15 %
November	26.0 °C	28 mm	32 %
December	19.7 °C	30 mm	36 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C
January	18.1 °C	7.6 °C	12.7 °C	28.2 °C	-1.2 °C	0	0
February	21.2 °C	9.2 °C	15.2 °C	32.8 °C	0.6 °C	4	0
March	26.6 °C	13.4 °C	20.2 °C	40.6 °C	3.5 °C	20	6
April	33.5 °C	19.4 °C	26.8 °C	44.9 °C	6.7 °C	29	24
May	40.4 °C	25.6 °C	33.6 °C	48.6 °C	18.1 °C	31	31
June	45.0 °C	30.1 °C	38.1 °C	51.3 °C	24.3 °C	30	30
July	46.7 °C	32.2 °C	39.8 °C	52.5 °C	27.0 °C	31	31
August	46.7 °C	31.6 °C	39.5 °C	51.3 °C	26.6 °C	31	31
September	42.9 °C	27.6 °C	35.5 °C	49.0 °C	20.4 °C	30	30
October	36.3 °C	22.0 °C	29.2 °C	44.6 °C	14.1 °C	31	29
November	26.0 °C	14.6 °C	20.2 °C	36.7 °C	3.8 °C	17	6
December	19.7 °C	9.3 °C	14.3 °C	28.5 °C	-0.2 °C	2	0

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	34 mm	5	10 h/day	36 %	67 %	20 km/h
February	17 mm	3	11 h/day	29 %	53 %	23 km/h
March	25 mm	3	12 h/day	30 %	42 %	24 km/h
April	10 mm	2	13 h/day	34 %	31 %	24 km/h
May	4 mm	1	14 h/day	24 %	19 %	25 km/h
June	under 1 mm	0	14 h/day	3 %	12 %	30 km/h
July	under 1 mm	0	14 h/day	2 %	14 %	29 km/h
August	under 1 mm	0	13 h/day	2 %	16 %	26 km/h
September	under 1 mm	0	12 h/day	2 %	19 %	24 km/h
October	6 mm	1	11 h/day	15 %	31 %	20 km/h
November	28 mm	3	11 h/day	32 %	51 %	19 km/h
December	30 mm	4	10 h/day	36 %	66 %	19 km/h

How Basrah compares

The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.

Destination	Summer high	Winter low	Rain per year	Days above 25 °C
Basrah	47 °C	7.6 °C	156 mm	257
Ahvaz · Iran	47 °C	7.5 °C	298 mm	251
Ḩawallī · Kuwait	43 °C	9.6 °C	126 mm	243
Bandar-e Māhshahr · Iran	46 °C	8.2 °C	274 mm	251
Nasiriyah · Iraq	46 °C	6.8 °C	114 mm	255
Al ‘Amārah · Iraq	47 °C	7.1 °C	206 mm	249
Al Aḩmadī · Kuwait	44 °C	8.2 °C	128 mm	250

Where Basrah ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The warmest places in Asia in September	1stof 50	43 °C
The warmest places in the world in September	1stof 50	43 °C
The warmest places in Asia in August	2ndof 50	47 °C
The warmest places in Asia in July	2ndof 50	47 °C
The warmest places in Asia in June	2ndof 50	45 °C
The warmest places in the world in August	2ndof 50	47 °C

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Basrah.

QuestionsCommon questions about Basrah’s climate

When is the best time to visit Basrah?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. February, March, November sit closest to 20 °C on average, August is the warmest month and July the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Basrah get?

In August, the warmest month, daily highs average 47 °C. About 218 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 53 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 7.6 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 0 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Basrah?

January, averaging 34 mm over 5 days with rain. The driest month is July with 0 mm. The year as a whole averages 156 mm.

Are these figures a forecast?

No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Basrah rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.

Data sources and method

ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0

Normal period: 1991–2020
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.