Weather and Climate in Riyadh
This page brings together the live picture for Riyadh right now — temperature, feels-like, wind, dust and air quality — with an hour-by-hour outlook for the day and a full seven-day forecast. Below the dashboard you will find a detailed, locally grounded guide to how the seasons actually behave across the capital and the wider Riyadh Region.
Riyadh has a hot desert climate, classified BWh in the Köppen–Geiger system. Far from the moderating influence of any ocean, the city heats and cools quickly, giving it one of the most extreme annual temperature ranges of any major capital: blistering summers, mild winters, and a wide swing between a hot afternoon and a cold dawn on the same day.
The capital receives, on average, a little over 100 millimetres of rain a year — very low by world standards — and almost all of it falls between November and April, with the heaviest rain usually in spring. For months at a stretch in summer, the sky is simply cloudless and the air bone-dry.
That climate sets the rhythm of the whole year in Riyadh: a furnace-like summer that runs from June to September, a brief and pleasant winter that draws the city outdoors, and short shoulder seasons defined less by temperature than by the dust that the spring winds raise across the plateau.
Summer
Summer is the defining season. From June through September, daytime highs in Riyadh sit around 43–44 °C and afternoons of 45–46 °C are routine, with the most intense heatwaves approaching 48 °C. Humidity is very low, often in single digits, so the heat is dry and fierce; nights stay warm, rarely falling below the high twenties at the peak of summer. Plan anything outdoors for early morning or after sunset, and never underestimate how fast dehydration sets in.
Winter
Winter is short, mild and reliably sunny by day, with afternoons around 19–20 °C from December to February — comfortably the most pleasant season in the capital. But the same clear skies let the heat escape after sunset, so nights are genuinely cold, with lows of 6–9 °C in the city and colder still, occasionally near freezing, in the surrounding desert. A jacket is essential once the sun goes down.
Spring & Autumn
Spring and autumn are brief. Autumn is a welcome easing of the summer heat through October into warm, settled days. Spring is the city’s most unsettled and dramatic season: it brings most of the year’s rain and the towering dust storms — known locally as a tooz — that can turn the sky orange and drop visibility to a few hundred metres within minutes.
Rain Probability
Rain in Riyadh is scarce and highly seasonal. The wet months run from November to April, peaking in spring, while the summer is effectively rainless. What rain there is tends to arrive in short, sharp thunderstorms rather than steady drizzle, and a single storm can deliver a large share of the annual total in an hour. The hourly and 7-day panels above show the live chance of rain for the week ahead.
Because the rain is intense and the dry desert ground absorbs little of it, Riyadh’s downpours can cause sudden flooding. Water runs off hard surfaces and gathers fast in the wadis and low underpasses — Wadi Hanifah, threading through the western city, can change from a dry bed to a running stream in hours. During heavy rain, avoid flooded crossings and follow Civil Defence advice.
Wind and Humidity
Riyadh’s humidity is very low for most of the year, which is why its intense summer heat is more bearable than the same temperature on a humid coast — though it makes dehydration a constant risk. The signature weather hazard is dust: northerly winds, strongest and most frequent in spring, raise dust storms that cut visibility, delay flights and send fine-particulate air pollution well into unhealthy levels.
The live wind speed, gusts and direction in the dashboard above update through the day, alongside the feels-like temperature, dew point and the air-quality index. Watching the wind and air-quality readings together is the simplest way to know when a dusty day is on the way — and when those sensitive to dust should stay indoors.
Planning around the weather
Planning around Riyadh’s weather comes down to two seasons. Treat the long summer as a heat-management exercise: lightweight, breathable clothing, sun protection, steady hydration, midday shade, and outdoor activity confined to the cool ends of the day. Treat winter as the reward — but pack a warm layer for the cold evenings, and keep an eye on the forecast for the occasional rainy or dusty day.
The best time to be in Riyadh is the cool season, roughly November to March, when warm sunny afternoons and crisp evenings fill the city with festivals, outdoor markets and desert camping. Whatever the season, the live conditions and seven-day forecast on this page refresh automatically, so you always have an up-to-date view before you travel or plan your day in the capital.