Libya
19 cities
Climate overview
Libya spans roughly 19–33°N as a North African country (~1,759,540 km²) on the central Mediterranean coast bordering Egypt, Sudan, Chad, Niger, Algeria, and Tunisia, with a 1,770 km Mediterranean coast (the longest of any African Mediterranean country). Over 90% of the country is Saharan desert, including the Murzuq and Calanshio sand seas and the Tibesti foothills (Bikku Bitti at 2,267 m near the Chadian border, the country's highest peak), while narrow Mediterranean fringes include the Jefara plain around Tripoli and the green Jebel Akhdar (Cyrenaica) above Benghazi. The result is a sharp climate gradient: hot-summer Mediterranean (Csa) on the narrow coastal strip, hot semi-arid (BSh) in transitional zones, and hot desert (BWh) across the vast interior, with rare frost on the highest ground.
Tripoli sees January highs of 18°C and lows of 9°C and August highs of 34°C with 330 mm rainfall mostly Oct–Mar; Benghazi 17°C / 9°C in January and 32°C in August with 270 mm; the Jebel Akhdar receives up to 600 mm at altitude; Sebha in the south 19°C / 5°C in January and 38°C in August with under 10 mm, typical of the deep Libyan Sahara; Ghadames 18°C / 5°C in January and about 41°C in August with 35 mm; Murzuq under 10 mm. The famous 1922 Aziziyah reading of 58°C was discredited by WMO in 2012, but inland Libya averages summer highs of about 38–41°C, with station records of up to 48°C.
Libya experienced multiple climate-related hazards and water stress between 2020 and 2024. In September 2023, Storm Daniel caused heavy rainfall that triggered failures in the Derna dam system, resulting in over 4,000 deaths, one of Africa's most significant flood disasters on record. Recurrent Saharan dust storms (ghibli winds) bring extreme conditions.
The Mediterranean coast around Benghazi faces coastal erosion. Groundwater is declining around Tripoli and in intensively farmed areas, while the Great Man-Made River draws on finite fossil aquifers to supply major population centers. Heat stress in the Sahara region has increased.
Our archive covers 19 Libyan cities with daily ERA5 reanalysis data going back to 1940. The hottest July afternoons are in Al Jadīd, with average highs around 37.4°C, while Sabha has the coldest January nights, with average lows near 4.3°C. Comparing the last decade against the 1940–1970 baseline, mean temperatures across these cities have risen by about 1.6°C.
How the climate has shifted in Libya
Average across 19 cities with full ERA5 coverage: 1940–1970 baseline vs the last decade (2016–2025).
- Annual mean temperature
- 19.9°C→21.5°C
- Days above 30°C per year
- 77 days→95 days+19
- Frost days per year
- 1 day→0 days−1
- Tropical nights (≥20°C) per year
- 113 nights→145 nights+33
Warmest year in the record so far: 2024.
What's unusual right now
From a snapshot of the world's largest cities updated each hour. Today's mean temperature compared with each city's long-term average for the same calendar date (ERA5 climatology, 1940 onward). Last 30 days uses each city's rolling daily-mean vs its monthly average. Not a global ranking.