Climate of Egypt

Climate of Egypt

Where is the country of Egypt located? Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country located in Africa. Egypt has for the most part a warm desert climate with very little precipitation, hot summers and very mild winters. Within the Köppen climate system it is all about the BWh climate. Throughout the year there are large temperature differences within the same 24 hours. The difference between minimum and maximum temperature in the same day in the desert is usually around 20 degrees. These differences are smaller in the capital Cairo and in the resorts along the Red Sea; there the difference within 24 hours is only about 11 to 15 degrees (average).

A small strip along the Mediterranean Sea has a different climate type: the warm Mediterranean climate prevails there, which is categorized as a Csa climate. Here the temperatures are somewhat moderate, making extreme heat in the summer months less likely to occur.

Precipitation

The only precipitation that falls in Egypt is in the form of rain. Little to virtually no rain falls in almost the entire country. The only area where there is some rain in the winter months is the north of the country, which borders the Mediterranean Sea. The area around Alexandria measures about 200 millimeters of precipitation on an annual basis. A little further south is the capital Cairo, where a little more than 10 mm falls per year. That’s as much as with us on one fairly rainy day. Even further south, rain is a rarity.

Heat

If you don’t like the heat, it’s better to stay away from Egypt from April to October. During the period April-October, temperatures in almost the entire country rise to 30 degrees during the day and (much) higher. This is clearly not the best time to travel for a holiday in Egypt. In the summer months, temperatures of 40 degrees in the shade are no exception. In the winter months the temperature rises to about 20 to 30 degrees, in the north even slightly below twenty degrees.

Cooling

In the desert it can cool down considerably at night. It is therefore important to bring a warm sweater or cardigan for the night, especially if you are easily cold. Directly on the coast of the Red Sea, there is much less cooling. It can get a bit cooler in the evenings there in the winter months.

seawater

The Red Sea (on the east side of Egypt) is one of the most popular snorkeling and diving destinations in the world. Not only because of the beautiful underwater life, but also because of the wonderfully warm sea water. In the first three months of the year the seawater is at its coolest, with “only” 21 to 22 degrees. After that, the water temperature quickly rises to values ​​of 28 to sometimes even 29 degrees in the months of August and September. Pleasant not only for divers and snorkelers, but also for swimmers and practitioners of other water sports.

Winter sun

The winters are pleasant and along the Red Sea coast very sunny. With temperatures between 20 and 30 degrees in the period November to March, Egypt is an excellent winter sun destination. It is not for nothing that many Egypt lovers choose this period for their holiday. The great thing about the winter season is that there are always good Egypt last minute deals to be found if you are not stuck with the school holidays. Especially in November and January it shouldn’t be too difficult to find a good holiday deal for Egypt.

Hot wind: the khamsin

In Europe this phenomenon is often called sirocco: a very warm wind from the desert, which is often accompanied by a lot of desert sand in the air. In Egypt, this phenomenon occurs annually around April and then causes a lot of trouble for people with sensitive airways or contact lenses. Because the wind can blow unhindered over the desert, wind speeds of about 140 kilometers per hour can be reached during these desert storms and the temperature can rise as much as 20 degrees within a time frame of 2 hours!

Egypt holiday

Would you like to enjoy a pleasant beach holiday or a Nile cruise in Egypt? Travel organization Corendon is one of the best providers in the field of Egypt holidays. View their Egypt offers Egypt offers to book an Egypt holiday now at low prices. It is important to know that you need a visa for Egypt. You can apply for your visa through a Dutch visa office, this must be arranged before the start of the trip.

Best time to visit Egypt

Do you want to know when is the best time to travel to Egypt? You can determine the best time to travel to a destination based on the weather and climate. In addition, there are other factors that are not directly related to the weather and that can influence the best travel periods for a travel destination. Think, for example, of holidays or festive periods, which makes traveling more interesting or not, because daily life comes to a standstill as a result. Egypt is one of the warmest and most sunny tourist destinations within a 5-hour flight from the Netherlands, Belgium or Germany. The warm weather, together with the many luxury resorts and the wonderful diving opportunities in the Red Sea, is an important factor for the popularity of the country of the pyramids and camels.

Tours and visits to archaeological sites

If you want to know what the best travel period is for a holiday to Egypt, the destination is a determining factor. It is best to travel in winter to visit the archaeological sites. The months of November through April are fine for this purpose, as are traveling around Egypt. It is the coolest period, during which you have to take into account the chance of precipitation and possibly some gloomy days on the northern coastal strip.

Sun holiday on the north coast

Egypt is perfect for a sun holiday. In fact, the country has been one of the most popular sunny destinations for years, within roughly five to six hours of flight. The best travel time for a sun holiday on the Mediterranean coast is from the end of May to mid-October. It should be mentioned that the seawater can still be on the fresh side in May and early June.

Sun holiday on the Red Sea

The seaside resorts on the Red Sea are on average warmer than the holiday destinations on the Mediterranean Sea. Popular sunny destinations such as Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab and El Gouna are actually a bit too hot during our summer months. We would choose to fly to these beach destinations between mid-March and early May or between early October and mid-December. It is then pleasantly warm with afternoon temperatures between 25 and 33 degrees Celsius and there is hardly any rain. The seawater temperature is very pleasant with about 25 to 27 degrees in the autumn. These are excellent conditions for snorkeling or diving. In spring the seawater is slightly cooler at 21 to 24 degrees.

Winter sun

It is not for nothing that Egypt is especially popular as a winter sun destination. While in Europe the weather on many days is not good enough for a beach holiday, in Egypt you can enjoy the sun at wonderful temperatures in the seaside resorts and resorts along the Red Sea. This difference is especially noticeable during the autumn holidays, in the Netherlands in October and in Belgium at the beginning of November. Most seaside resorts in Greece, Spain and Turkey are no longer so sure of the sun and even on pleasant days you notice that it cools down a bit faster at the end of the afternoon. In the worst case, you are the victim of a major depression and you have days of rain and cool temperatures. You notice that the atmosphere is a lot less because restaurants and bars are at the end of their season. In Egyptian seaside resorts such as Hurghada and Sharm el Sheikh, this period is pleasant again. With sun-drenched days, maximum temperatures around thirty degrees and seawater with a temperature of about 26 to 28 degrees, Egypt is one of the best sun destinations that you can choose for the autumn holiday. The pleasant weather here just lasts until June. In that month the temperatures rise again to about 35 to 40 degrees and it is actually too hot.

The interior

In the inner regions of Egypt it gets warm to very hot. In the summer months it is actually no longer pleasant in the capital Cairo or at popular tourist destinations such as Luxor. When the mercury hits or even exceeds forty degrees in the middle of summer, it is actually too hot to visit the Egyptian interior. It is certainly no longer pleasant when you walk in the full sun at archaeological sites during the day. It is better to plan these kinds of trips in the winter period.

Nijlcruise

A popular form of holiday in Egypt is by means of a Nile cruise. This is a multi-day boat trip on the Nile, which takes you along various highlights of Egypt. This relaxing and exciting tour is the most popular form of holidays in Egypt after beach holidays. There are many places of interest along the Nile. Because a Nile cruise takes place inland, the same months are considered the best travel period here. Because of the heat in the summer, we would especially choose the winter season to book a Nile cruise. Preference would be given to the months of November, December, March and April. We wouldn’t rule out January or February for a Nile cruise either.

Egypt