Riyadh & Najd Climate Guide
Riyadh and its Region lie at the heart of Najd, the interior plateau of Arabia, with a textbook hot desert climate. This guide explains how the weather behaves through the year — summer, winter, dust storms and rainfall — and the five Najd climate sub-regions within the Riyadh Region.
Climate topics
In-depth guides to the key aspects of Riyadh’s weather.
Najd climate sub-regions of the Riyadh Region
Riyadh Metropolitan
The Riyadh Metropolitan is a hot desert region (Köppen BWh), characterised by a hot desert climate on the Najd plateau — long, fiercely hot and bone-dry summers, short mild winters with cold nights, and dusty spring winds.
Typical summer highs are around 43 °C and winter highs near 20 °C, with mean annual rainfall of about 110 mm concentrated between November and April. Dust arrives mainly with the spring northerly winds.
Locations in the Riyadh Metropolitan
Central Najd
The Central Najd is a hot desert region (Köppen BWh), characterised by the open desert and oasis farmland around Riyadh — fierce dry summers, cold-nighted mild winters, and a wide day-to-night temperature swing.
Typical summer highs are around 44 °C and winter highs near 20 °C, with mean annual rainfall of about 100 mm concentrated between November and April. Dust arrives mainly with the spring northerly winds.
Locations in the Central Najd
Northern Najd
The Northern Najd is a hot desert region (Köppen BWh), characterised by the higher, cooler north of the Riyadh Region — hot dry summers but notably colder winter nights, with the province’s sharpest frosts.
Typical summer highs are around 43 °C and winter highs near 19 °C, with mean annual rainfall of about 120 mm concentrated between November and April. Dust arrives mainly with the spring northerly winds.
Locations in the Northern Najd
Southern Najd
The Southern Najd is a hot desert region (Köppen BWh), characterised by the hot, hyper-arid south toward the Empty Quarter — the province’s fiercest summer heat, mild winters, and very little rain.
Typical summer highs are around 45 °C and winter highs near 24 °C, with mean annual rainfall of about 70 mm concentrated between November and April. Dust arrives mainly with the spring northerly winds.
Locations in the Southern Najd
Western Najd Highlands
The Western Najd Highlands is a hot desert (high plateau) region (Köppen BWh), characterised by the higher western plateau toward Afif and Dawadmi — slightly tempered summers, cold winter nights at altitude, and the region’s most rain and dust.
Typical summer highs are around 41 °C and winter highs near 20 °C, with mean annual rainfall of about 130 mm concentrated between November and April. Dust arrives mainly with the spring northerly winds.