Damascus climate
Damascus (Syria) has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh). The average temperature over the year is 18 °C65 °F, and about 287 mm11 in of precipitation falls in an average year.
Temperature by month
Precipitation by month
Damascus climate table
| Month | High °C°F | Low °C°F | Mean °C°F | Precip. mmin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1254 | 236 | 745 | 692.7 |
| Feb | 1457 | 338 | 948 | 572.2 |
| Mar | 1865 | 642 | 1254 | 291.1 |
| Apr | 2374 | 948 | 1661 | 180.7 |
| May | 2985 | 1356 | 2170 | 70.3 |
| Jun | 3494 | 1763 | 2679 | 10.0 |
| Jul | 3799 | 2068 | 2984 | 00.0 |
| Aug | 3799 | 2069 | 2984 | 00.0 |
| Sep | 3492 | 1864 | 2678 | 20.1 |
| Oct | 2882 | 1458 | 2170 | 130.5 |
| Nov | 1967 | 847 | 1457 | 351.4 |
| Dec | 1458 | 440 | 949 | 572.2 |
| Year | 3799 | 236 | 1865 | 28711 |
“Year” row: highest monthly high, lowest monthly low, annual mean and annual total.
| Month | Humid. | Cloud | Solar | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 76% | 56% | 2.8 | 10:09 |
| Feb | 72% | 57% | 3.6 | 10:56 |
| Mar | 65% | 49% | 5.2 | 11:53 |
| Apr | 56% | 46% | 6.4 | 12:59 |
| May | 46% | 35% | 7.5 | 13:53 |
| Jun | 36% | 19% | 8.4 | 14:22 |
| Jul | 33% | 17% | 8.2 | 14:10 |
| Aug | 36% | 20% | 7.5 | 13:23 |
| Sep | 40% | 21% | 6.3 | 12:20 |
| Oct | 47% | 36% | 4.7 | 11:17 |
| Nov | 61% | 45% | 3.4 | 10:22 |
| Dec | 71% | 51% | 2.6 | 9:56 |
Humid. = average relative humidity at 2 m; cloud = average cloud amount; solar = average daily solar energy reaching the ground in kWh/m² (all-sky); daylight in hours:minutes, calculated for the 15th of each month.
What the climate of Damascus is like
The warmest month is July, with an average high of 37 °C99 °F and a low of 20 °C68 °F. The coldest is January, when highs average 12 °C54 °F and lows 2 °C36 °F. Seasons are strongly marked: the warmest month is on average 21.6 °C38.8 °F warmer than the coldest.
It is dry, with about 287 mm11 in of precipitation per year. The wettest three-month stretch is December–February, which brings 64% of the annual total. Months with less than 20 mm0.8 in on average: April–October. The wettest month is January (69 mm2.7 in), the driest is July (0 mm0.0 in).
Relative humidity ranges from 33% in July to 76% in January. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 17%) are typical of July. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 7 km/h (5 mph) in October to 10 km/h (6 mph) in February. Daylight lasts from about 9.9 hours in December to 14.4 hours in June.
Best time to visit Damascus
Based on these averages, the most comfortable months for sightseeing and outdoor activities are March–May and October and November: average highs of 18 °C65 °F to 29 °C85 °F with 7 mm0.3 in to 35 mm1.4 in of precipitation per month.
The most challenging month is July, which is hot, with average highs of 37 °C99 °F.
Comfort score: months are ranked by how close they come to an average high of 21–28 °C (70–82 °F), lows above 5 °C (41 °F), little precipitation and moderate humidity. The best-ranked months of each place are recommended, even where none meets all of these. These are general rules of thumb applied to long-term averages.
Damascus weather by month
- January12 °C54 °F / 2 °C36 °F
- February14 °C57 °F / 3 °C38 °F
- March18 °C65 °F / 6 °C42 °F
- April23 °C74 °F / 9 °C48 °F
- May29 °C85 °F / 13 °C56 °F
- June34 °C94 °F / 17 °C63 °F
- July37 °C99 °F / 20 °C68 °F
- August37 °C99 °F / 20 °C69 °F
- September34 °C92 °F / 18 °C64 °F
- October28 °C82 °F / 14 °C58 °F
- November19 °C67 °F / 8 °C47 °F
- December14 °C58 °F / 4 °C40 °F
What to pack for Damascus
- Winter (December–February) — highs 1254 to 14 °C58 °F, lows 236 to 4 °C40 °F, about 61 mm2.4 in of precipitation a month. Pack long sleeves, a sweater and a medium jacket.
- Spring (March–May) — highs 1865 to 29 °C85 °F, lows 642 to 13 °C56 °F, about 18 mm0.7 in of precipitation a month. Pack light layers — T-shirts plus a light sweater or jacket and an extra layer for the cooler mornings and evenings.
- Summer (June–August) — highs 3494 to 37 °C99 °F, lows 1763 to 20 °C69 °F, about 1 mm0.0 in of precipitation a month. Pack very light, breathable clothing, a sun hat and plenty of water.
- Autumn (September–November) — highs 1967 to 34 °C92 °F, lows 847 to 18 °C64 °F, about 16 mm0.6 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses and an extra layer for the cooler mornings and evenings.
How Damascus compares
Compared with Beirut, about 85 km to the northwest, Damascus is on average 3.5 °C6.3 °F cooler and receives 37% less precipitation (287 mm11 in vs 455 mm18 in). The difference is largest in December (6.7 °C12.1 °F cooler).
Of the 12 places in Syria covered by World Climates, Damascus is the 9th warmest by annual mean temperature and the 7th wettest by annual precipitation. See all of them on the Syria climate page.
Places in other countries with the most similar temperature and rainfall pattern: Irbid (Jordan, Csa), Fresno (United States, BSh) and Zarqa (Jordan, BSh).
The same NASA POWER grid cell also contains Duma (pop. 111,864). Their long-term averages in this dataset are essentially the same as for Damascus, so they do not have separate pages.
Nearby places
- Beirut 85 km · 22 °C71 °F · 455 mm18 in
- Sidon 85 km · 22 °C71 °F · 403 mm16 in
- Tyre 105 km · 21 °C70 °F · 591 mm23 in
- Ar Ramtha 109 km · 19 °C67 °F · 207 mm8.2 in
- Tripoli 111 km · 21 °C71 °F · 562 mm22 in
- Irbid 114 km · 18 °C64 °F · 372 mm15 in
- Homs 141 km · 19 °C66 °F · 249 mm9.8 in
- Haifa 143 km · 20 °C69 °F · 559 mm22 in
Frequently asked questions
What is the warmest month in Damascus?
July is the warmest month in Damascus, with an average high of 37 °C (99 °F) and an average low of 20 °C (68 °F).
What is the coldest month in Damascus?
January is the coldest month, with an average high of 12 °C (54 °F) and an average low of 2 °C (36 °F).
When does it rain the most in Damascus?
January is the wettest month with about 69 mm (2.7 in) of precipitation; July is the driest with about 0 mm (0.0 in).
What is the best time to visit Damascus?
Judging by long-term averages, the most comfortable months are March–May and October and November.
About this data
All figures are 25-year averages (January 2001 – December 2025) from the NASA POWER project. Temperature, humidity, wind and precipitation come from the MERRA-2 reanalysis (precipitation is the bias-corrected MERRA-2 product), cloud and solar values from CERES satellite data. They describe a grid cell of roughly 50–70 km, not a single weather station, so they can differ from airport records — most of all on coasts, in mountains and for rainfall. Average highs and lows are the monthly mean temperature plus/minus half of the average daily temperature range. Counts of rainy days are not part of this dataset.
The grid cell’s average elevation is 1,072 m, while Damascus lies at about 701 m. Temperatures on this page were therefore adjusted by +2.4 °C4.3 °F using the standard lapse rate of 6.5 °C per 1,000 m.