Riyadh climate

Name: Riyadh
Address: SA

Riyadh is warmest in July, with average highs of 43 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average 7.2 °C. April is the wettest month (14 mm) and July the driest (0 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Riyadh averages 67 mm of rain, 274 days above 25 °C and 1 days below freezing.

Saudi Arabia · population 4,205,961 · 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 43 °C
Coldest month January 7.2 °C
Driest month July 0 mm
Wettest month April 14 mm
Least cloud September 6 % cloud
Hottest on record July 47 °C
Coldest on record January -6.5 °C

What to expectRiyadh through the year

Riyadh has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 20 °C in January to 43 °C in July, a swing of 22 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 274 days a year reach 25 °C, 222 of them reach 30 °C, 1 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 47 °C, in July.

Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 0 mm in July to 14 mm in April. There is no dry season to aim for.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	19.8 °C	11 mm	29 %
February	23.1 °C	7 mm	22 %
March	27.3 °C	12 mm	28 %
April	33.1 °C	14 mm	33 %
May	38.6 °C	2 mm	21 %
June	41.6 °C	under 1 mm	6 %
July	42.6 °C	0 mm	15 %
August	42.5 °C	under 1 mm	14 %
September	39.5 °C	0 mm	6 %
October	34.0 °C	1 mm	10 %
November	26.3 °C	12 mm	23 %
December	21.3 °C	9 mm	26 %

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	19.8 °C	7.2 °C	13.7 °C	31.1 °C	-6.5 °C	4	0	1
February	23.1 °C	9.4 °C	16.6 °C	35.0 °C	-1.0 °C	10	2	0
March	27.3 °C	13.5 °C	20.9 °C	37.5 °C	2.0 °C	22	9	0
April	33.1 °C	19.0 °C	26.6 °C	41.3 °C	7.7 °C	29	24	0
May	38.6 °C	24.1 °C	32.2 °C	44.3 °C	15.9 °C	31	31	0
June	41.6 °C	26.2 °C	34.7 °C	46.0 °C	20.8 °C	30	30	0
July	42.6 °C	27.5 °C	35.9 °C	46.9 °C	21.4 °C	31	31	0
August	42.5 °C	27.4 °C	35.8 °C	46.4 °C	21.3 °C	31	31	0
September	39.5 °C	24.4 °C	32.6 °C	44.5 °C	17.1 °C	30	30	0
October	34.0 °C	19.9 °C	27.4 °C	40.1 °C	11.0 °C	31	29	0
November	26.3 °C	13.9 °C	20.2 °C	34.7 °C	2.9 °C	20	6	0
December	21.3 °C	8.8 °C	15.1 °C	29.3 °C	-1.4 °C	6	0	0

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	11 mm	2	11 h/day	29 %	48 %	19 km/h
February	7 mm	1	11 h/day	22 %	36 %	21 km/h
March	12 mm	2	12 h/day	28 %	32 %	23 km/h
April	14 mm	2	13 h/day	33 %	26 %	23 km/h
May	2 mm	1	13 h/day	21 %	16 %	22 km/h
June	under 1 mm	0	14 h/day	6 %	11 %	23 km/h
July	0 mm	0	14 h/day	15 %	12 %	23 km/h
August	under 1 mm	0	13 h/day	14 %	13 %	22 km/h
September	0 mm	0	12 h/day	6 %	15 %	19 km/h
October	1 mm	0	12 h/day	10 %	22 %	17 km/h
November	12 mm	2	11 h/day	23 %	41 %	18 km/h
December	9 mm	2	11 h/day	26 %	49 %	18 km/h

How Riyadh 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
Riyadh	43 °C	7.2 °C	67 mm	274
Al Kharj · Saudi Arabia	44 °C	7.7 °C	56 mm	286
Al Hufūf · Saudi Arabia	45 °C	8.7 °C	70 mm	279
Unaizah · Saudi Arabia	42 °C	6.1 °C	97 mm	263
Buraydah · Saudi Arabia	43 °C	6.1 °C	93 mm	266
Al Jubayl · Saudi Arabia	41 °C	11 °C	101 mm	258
Dammam · Saudi Arabia	40 °C	12 °C	87 mm	257

Where Riyadh ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The driest places in Asia in July	1stof 50	0 mm
The driest places in Asia in September	1stof 50	0 mm
The driest places in South America in July	1stof 50	0 mm
The driest places in South America in September	1stof 50	0 mm
The driest places in the world in July	1stof 50	0 mm
The driest places in the world in September	1stof 50	0 mm

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

QuestionsCommon questions about Riyadh’s climate

When is the best time to visit Riyadh?

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, July is the warmest month and July the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Riyadh get?

In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 43 °C. About 222 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 47 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 7.2 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 1 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Riyadh?

April, averaging 14 mm over 2 days with rain. The driest month is July with 0 mm. The year as a whole averages 67 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 Riyadh 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.