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Riyadh weather by month: averages, rainfall & climate trends

Planted on the Najd plateau at the heart of the Arabian Peninsula, Riyadh is one of the world's most intensely hot cities in summer: a place of searing desert air, periodic dust storms and sparse winter rains. Riyadh weather by month: average temperatures, rainfall, records and how the climate has changed since 1940.

Today vs average

+3.7°Chigh well above average

37° / 24°Today
34° / 19°Average
see today in detail →

How it's changed

+3.2°Caverage temperature, 2016–2025 vs 1940–1949average temperature vs 1940–490frost days a year now (2016–2025) · 2 in the 1940sfrost days a year · 2 in the 1940s230days above 30°C a year now (2016–2025) · 208 in the 1940sdays above 30°C · 208 in the 1940s+3.2°C vs the 1940s · see how it's changed →
Weather by montha typical year, averaged over the full recordJanuary, rain 11 mmhigh 20°low 7°February, rain 7 mmhigh 23°low 9°March, rain 11 mmhigh 27°low 14°April, rain 11 mmhigh 33°low 19°May, rain 3 mmhigh 38°low 24°June, rain 0 mmhigh 41°low 26°July, rain 0 mmhigh 42°low 27°August, rain 0 mmhigh 42°low 27°September, rain 0 mmhigh 39°low 24°October, rain 1 mmhigh 34°low 19°November, rain 7 mmhigh 27°low 14°December, rain 11 mmhigh 21°low 9°wettest month April, 11 mm · 62 mm a yearsee month by month →

Right now

What it's doing today vs the historical average for this date.
Partly cloudy

Right now

35.8°

33°feels like
14%humidity
4°dew point
7 km/hfrom NW
UV index0.2
sunrise05:52sunset17:24day length11h 31m
TodayPartly cloudy37°24°
MonClear38°23°
TueMostly clear37°26°
WedMostly clear37°23°
ThuClear36°23°
FriClear36°22°
SatClear36°21°

On this date: October 18

Today (forecast)
37° / 24°
Average for October 18
34° / 19°

High well above average · +3.7°C

  • Record high: 36.9° · 2002
  • Record low: 12.4° · 1948
  • One year ago: 34° / 21°

Every October 18 in history, coldest to hottest

▲ Daily highs▼ Daily lows

Dots show daily highs (top) and lows (bottom) for each October 18 on record (n = 87). Outlined dots are today's forecast.

Area we sample

Each city's history comes from one ERA5 grid cell, about 28 km across, shown by the dashed box. Near mountains or coasts, conditions can vary across the cell.

Location & data

Historical weather for Riyadh is sampled from the ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at 24.69°N, 46.72°E, with daily records since 1940.

Coordinates
24.69°N, 46.72°E
Time zone
Asia/Riyadh
Period
1940–2026
Data source
ERA5 (ECMWF)

Last 30 days

31 of the last 31 days were warmer than the historical average for that date. Average difference: +3.3°C.

Each bar is one day, from morning low to afternoon high. Warm-colored bars are days whose mean ran above average; cool bars ran below. The dot inside the bar is the daily mean. The shaded band is the typical 10–90% range expected for that date. Average = the day's mean temperature averaged across every year of record (1940–2026) for that calendar date.

This date over the years

One dot per year, showing the mean temperature on this calendar date. Dots are warmer or cooler than the long-term average (dashed line); the shaded band is the typical 10–90% range, and the highlighted dot is today's forecast. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Weather by month

Average temperatures and rainfall for each month: a typical year, from the full record.

Climate overview

Riyadh sits on the Najd plateau at the centre of the Arabian Peninsula at roughly 600 metres elevation, with a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh). Summers are exceptionally long and extreme, with daytime temperatures routinely surpassing 40°C over several months; winters are short and much cooler. The city's location deep in the peninsula's interior, far from any ocean, removes all maritime moderation and intensifies the desert extremes.

Dust storms are a recurring feature and can reduce visibility to near zero. On 1 and 2 April 2015, a massive dust storm halted schools, cancelled hundreds of flights and blanketed the city in a dense curtain of suspended dust. What little precipitation Riyadh receives falls between November and April, peaking in March and April, before the desert summer reasserts itself and rain essentially vanishes until the following winter.

The year peaks in July, at around 42.3°C by mid-afternoon, with nights around 27.4°C. Around 200 nights a year stay above 20°C. The coolest month is January, when afternoons reach about 19.7°C and overnight lows sit around 7.4°C.

Riyadh averages only about 62 mm a year, and what little falls comes mostly around April.

Comparing the record's first decade with its most recent one, Riyadh now averages 3.2°C warmer than it did in the 1940s. Recent years have brought less rain as well. The last decade sits roughly 8% under the long-term average.

Sources:en.wikipedia.orgbritannica.com

Climate graph (climograph)

July is the warmest month, January the coolest: a yearly swing of 22°C. Wettest month: April (~11 mm). Whole year averages ~62 mm of rain.

Bars = average monthly rainfall (right axis). Lines = average daily high and low (left axis). Average = each month's value averaged across every year of record (1940–2026).

Monthly wind

Average daily peak wind at 10 m, by month.

Monthly solar energy

Average daily incoming solar energy in megajoules per square metre: the record's own proxy for how sunny the month is.

Riyadh month by month: what to expect

Typical conditions for each month, averaged across the full record (since 1940). Daylight is the time from sunrise to sunset. Record high/low are the most extreme values in the ERA5 dataset (modelled since 1940), so they can differ from official weather-station readings.

MonthAvg highAvg lowRainDaylightRecord highRecord low
January19.7°7.4°11 mm10.6 h32.3° (2015)−5.3° (1964)
February22.6°9.4°7 mm11.2 h35.0° (2018)−3.3° (1950)
March27.1°13.7°11 mm11.8 h38.5° (2022)−0.7° (1945)
April32.5°18.9°11 mm12.6 h42.0° (2009)3.0° (1956)
May38.3°24.1°3 mm13.2 h45.5° (2025)12.6° (1957)
June41.2°26.0°0 mm13.5 h46.6° (2017)19.0° (1967)
July42.3°27.4°0 mm13.4 h47.3° (2024)20.8° (1941)
August42.1°27.1°0 mm12.9 h46.6° (1998)18.0° (1941)
September39.3°24.1°0 mm12.1 h45.5° (2016)15.6° (1989)
October33.8°19.3°1 mm11.4 h41.3° (2023)8.8° (1984)
November26.6°13.9°7 mm10.8 h35.1° (2019)1.9° (1964)
December21.0°8.9°11 mm10.5 h30.0° (2016)−4.5° (1963)

How it's changed

Year-by-year signals from 1940 to today.

Climate stripes

Annual mean shifted from 1940–1949 to 2016–2025 by +3.2°C.

Each vertical stripe is one year. Color encodes how much that year's annual mean differed from the long-term average. Average = each year's annual mean compared to the average of all years (1940–2026). cooler ← → warmer

Annual mean temperature

Long-term trend: +0.43°C per decade.

One point per year, showing the temperature averaged across the whole year. The dashed line is the least-squares long-term trend. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Seasonal warming

Jun–Aug is warming fastest: +0.53°C per decade.

Each faint line is one three-month period's average per year; the bold dashed line is its long-term trend. Different parts of the year often warm at different rates. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Hot days vs frost days

Days ≥ 30°C per year: 207.5 early in the record → 229.5 recently. Frost days: 2 → 0.

Thin lines are raw yearly counts; thick lines are the smoothed trend that removes year-to-year noise. The hot-day threshold is auto-picked per city so the line actually moves. Average = a centered 5-year rolling average to smooth weather noise.

Yearly hot & cold extremes

All-time high in 2024, all-time low in 1964: 47.3°C / −5.3°C.

One point per year: the single hottest and coldest day recorded that year.

Annual rainfall

~62 mm/year on average. Last decade: −8% vs that average. Long-term trend: +1 mm per decade.

One bar per year of total rainfall. Dashed line is the long-term average. Average = the average annual rainfall across every year of record (1940–2026).

Day-by-day grid

Each tiny square is one calendar day across the full record, about 30,000 days per city. Use the mode switch above the chart: Anomaly colors each day by how far it ran from the historical average for that date (red = warmer, blue = cooler), Daily mean temp shows the absolute mean temperature for the day (useful to see seasons and heatwaves), and Precipitation shows daily rainfall (useful to spot wet/dry seasons and droughts). Average = the long-term average for that calendar date (1940–2026).

Frequently asked questions about Riyadh

Which is the warmest month in Riyadh?
On long-term average, the warmest month in Riyadh is July (mean daily temperature of about 35.4°C) and the coolest is January (about 13.5°C).
How does today's temperature in Riyadh compare to the historical average?
On October 18, 2026, Riyadh is forecast to reach a high of 37.3°C and a low of 23.8°C. The long-term average for this date (the full record since 1940) is a high of 33.6°C and a low of 19.2°C, so today's high is 3.7°C warmer than that average.
How much has Riyadh warmed since 1940?
Comparing the first decade of the record (1940–1949) with the most recent (2016–2025), the annual mean temperature in Riyadh is about 3.2°C warmer.
How much does it rain in Riyadh?
Riyadh receives about 62 mm of precipitation per year on long-term average, with April typically the wettest month.
What is the average temperature in Riyadh?
Over the full record (since 1940), the annual mean temperature in Riyadh is about 25.6°C. The warmest month is July and the coolest is January.
What are the average temperatures in Riyadh by month?
Average daily highs and lows for each month in Riyadh (°C, full record since 1940): January 20°/7°, February 23°/9°, March 27°/14°, April 33°/19°, May 38°/24°, June 41°/26°, July 42°/27°, August 42°/27°, September 39°/24°, October 34°/19°, November 27°/14°, December 21°/9°.
What is the weather like in Riyadh in summer?
Summer in Riyadh (June to August) is dry and really hot. Afternoons run 41–42°C and nights 26–27°C; July is the warmest month. Almost no rain.
What is the weather like in Riyadh in winter?
December to February is winter in Riyadh, and it is dry and mild. Expect 20–23°C by day and 7–9°C at night, with January the coldest month. Hardly any rain falls.
What is the weather like in Riyadh in spring?
March to May is spring in Riyadh, and it is dry and hot. It warms from 27°C by day and 14°C at night in March to 38°C and 24°C in May. Almost no rain.
What is the weather like in Riyadh in autumn?
September to November is autumn in Riyadh, and it is dry and hot. September still brings 39°C afternoons and 24°C nights, November only 27°C and 14°C. Hardly any rain falls.

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