Erbil climate

Name: Erbil
Address: IQ

Erbil is warmest in July, with average highs of 41 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average 1.3 °C. January is the wettest month (99 mm) and August the driest (0.2 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Erbil averages 536 mm of rain, 191 days above 25 °C and 28 days below freezing.

Iraq · population 1,612,700 · 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 July 41 °C
Coldest month January 1.3 °C
Driest month August 0 mm
Wettest month January 99 mm
Least cloud August 3 % cloud
Hottest on record July 48 °C
Coldest on record January -11 °C

What to expectErbil through the year

Erbil has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 12 °C in January to 41 °C in July, a swing of 28 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 191 days a year reach 25 °C, 154 of them reach 30 °C, 28 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 48 °C, in July.

Rain is strongly seasonal. January averages 99 mm against 0 mm in August — 523 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	11.6 °C	99 mm	49 %
February	13.3 °C	89 mm	47 %
March	17.7 °C	88 mm	45 %
April	23.7 °C	62 mm	41 %
May	30.7 °C	22 mm	29 %
June	37.6 °C	1 mm	7 %
July	41.5 °C	under 1 mm	3 %
August	41.2 °C	under 1 mm	3 %
September	36.2 °C	1 mm	4 %
October	29.2 °C	27 mm	26 %
November	19.5 °C	62 mm	38 %
December	13.6 °C	84 mm	48 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C	Days below 0 °C
January	11.6 °C	1.3 °C	6.1 °C	21.5 °C	-11.0 °C	0	0	12
February	13.3 °C	2.2 °C	7.6 °C	22.2 °C	-7.6 °C	0	0	7
March	17.7 °C	5.6 °C	11.8 °C	30.6 °C	-4.3 °C	1	0	2
April	23.7 °C	10.6 °C	17.4 °C	38.5 °C	-0.3 °C	11	2	0
May	30.7 °C	16.3 °C	24.0 °C	40.2 °C	7.8 °C	28	17	0
June	37.6 °C	22.0 °C	30.6 °C	44.6 °C	14.6 °C	30	30	0
July	41.5 °C	25.9 °C	34.5 °C	47.5 °C	18.3 °C	31	31	0
August	41.2 °C	25.4 °C	34.0 °C	47.4 °C	19.5 °C	31	31	0
September	36.2 °C	20.8 °C	28.9 °C	43.6 °C	10.3 °C	30	29	0
October	29.2 °C	15.6 °C	22.2 °C	38.4 °C	5.8 °C	26	14	0
November	19.5 °C	7.8 °C	13.3 °C	30.2 °C	-2.6 °C	3	0	1
December	13.6 °C	3.2 °C	7.9 °C	27.5 °C	-6.5 °C	0	0	7

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	99 mm	10	10.0 h/day	49 %	72 %	12 km/h
February	89 mm	10	11 h/day	47 %	71 %	13 km/h
March	88 mm	10	12 h/day	45 %	66 %	13 km/h
April	62 mm	7	13 h/day	41 %	57 %	14 km/h
May	22 mm	4	14 h/day	29 %	40 %	15 km/h
June	1 mm	0	15 h/day	7 %	23 %	15 km/h
July	under 1 mm	0	14 h/day	3 %	19 %	15 km/h
August	under 1 mm	0	14 h/day	3 %	19 %	15 km/h
September	1 mm	0	12 h/day	4 %	23 %	14 km/h
October	27 mm	3	11 h/day	26 %	36 %	13 km/h
November	62 mm	7	10 h/day	38 %	58 %	11 km/h
December	84 mm	9	9.7 h/day	48 %	69 %	11 km/h

How Erbil 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
Erbil	41 °C	1.3 °C	536 mm	191
Mosul · Iraq	43 °C	2.9 °C	380 mm	197
Kirkuk · Iraq	43 °C	3.6 °C	463 mm	203
Ash Sharqāt · Iraq	43 °C	3.2 °C	234 mm	209
Piranshahr · Iran	33 °C	-6.5 °C	663 mm	123
Dihok · Iraq	40 °C	0.1 °C	515 mm	175
Sumayl · Iraq	40 °C	0.5 °C	480 mm	176

Where Erbil ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The warmest places in Asia in July	37thof 50	41 °C
The warmest places in Asia in August	38thof 50	41 °C
The warmest places in the world in July	39thof 50	41 °C
The warmest places in the world in August	40thof 50	41 °C

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

QuestionsCommon questions about Erbil’s climate

When is the best time to visit Erbil?

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

How hot does Erbil get?

In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 41 °C. About 154 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 48 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 1.3 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 28 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Erbil?

January, averaging 99 mm over 10 days with rain. The driest month is August with 0 mm. The year as a whole averages 536 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 Erbil 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.