Climate of Jordan

Climate of Jordan

Where is the country of Jordan located? The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, almost always simply referred to as Jordan, is a country in the Middle East. Jordan consists mainly of desert landscape, with an additional strip of fertile land along the banks of the Jordan River. In the south, Jordan has a connection with the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aqaba and in the west is the Dead Sea, a lake with a high salt content, which makes it very easy to float. Much of Jordan consists of a plateau with an altitude of 700 to 1200 meters above sea level, with a number of higher mountains in the southwest. At 1754 meters, Jabal Ramm is the highest point in the country. Jordan has a warm Mediterranean climate in the area around the Jordan Bank (type Csa according to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification), with mild, wetter winters and warm, dry summers. Inland, the climate changes via a cold steppe climate (BSk) and a cold desert climate (BWk) into large plains with a warm desert climate (BWh) and a strip in the north of the country with a warm steppe climate (BSh).

Hot summers

Summer in Jordan lasts from June to September and is without exception warm to hot, sunny and dry. Throughout Jordan, daytime temperatures average around thirty degrees or higher, with the highest averages in the south, reaching as high as 37 to 41 degrees. Even in a waterfront city like Aqaba (Aqaba), it is extremely hot in the summer, with daytime temperatures normally reaching between 34 and 40 degrees Celsius. In the summer months, the Gulf region has the shamal, a northwesterly wind that blows from Syria and Jordan towards the Persian Gulf. The shamal, which lasts an average of 3 to 5 days, ensures a low relative humidity, a significant increase in daytime temperatures and often a lot of desert sand in the air.

Mild winters

The winter period, which runs from December to early March, is mild and less dry than summer. Especially in the northwest of Jordan, along the Jordan, you see a reasonable increase in the number of days with precipitation. This also applies to the monthly precipitation sum, which is normally around 60 to 80 millimeters in the wettest months, but can sometimes reach more than a hundred millimeters. In the higher desert plains there is also an increasing amount of precipitation in winter, but even then it is still relatively dry. Some regions only get a few millimeters in the whole winter. Frost is possible in the coldest months, especially at night the mercury can drop below freezing. Snow is also not rare in Jordan in winter, especially in the highlands it usually snows a few days a year.

Climate figures

The figures below are based on long-term average climate statistics. The temperatures are displayed in degrees Celsius (°C).

Maximum temperature Minimum temperature Hours of sunshine per day Days of rainfall per month
January 11℃ 3℃ 6 11
February 13℃ 3℃ 7 10
March 16℃ 5℃ 7 8
April 21℃ 9℃ 9 4
May 26℃ 12℃ 11 1
June 29℃ 15℃ 13 0
July 30℃ 17℃ 13 0
August 30℃ 17℃ 12 0
September 29℃ 15℃ 11 0
October 25℃ 12℃ 9 3
November 19℃ 8℃ 7 6
December 13℃ 4℃ 6 9

Best time to visit Jordan

Do you want to know when is the best time to travel to Jordan? 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. The Kingdom of Jordan is located quite centrally in the Middle East. The country is named after its location on the Jordaan. This river largely forms the natural border with Israel and Palestine. Jordan also lies on the Dead Sea and in the extreme southwest on the Red Sea. The landscape consists largely of deserts. Forests can be found in the northwest and the area along the Jordaan is largely agricultural due to irrigation. Jordan is a dry country where temperatures can rise considerably. There are three common climate types: the warm desert climate (about 50% of the entire country), the cold desert climate and the warm steppe climate. Jordan has a fairly long and warm to very hot summer, depending on where you are within the country. Winters are generally quite mild, with the exception of the mountain areas where snow and frost can occur. In February you can already see the temperature rising. You can consider March and April as spring, but then summer really starts in most places in May. The summer period lasts in many places until October. In fact, there is hardly any autumn. November is actually the one and only autumn month in Jordan.

Best months

The best time to travel to much of Jordan is from mid – March to mid – May and from mid – September to late October. These are the two periods in which it is pleasant in almost the entire country and there is little or no precipitation. In the warmest places it can already be on the hot side in the first half of May, just like in September.

Beach Holiday in Jordan

There is one seaside resort in Jordan and that is Aqaba (or Aqaba). This city is located on the Red Sea. Due to the many hours of sunshine and the small amount of rain that falls here, Aqaba is well suited for a beach holiday for quite a large part of the year. In the course of May, the heat starts to get serious. June, July, August and also September are seriously hot in Aqaba. We would choose April, October or possibly November as the best travel time for a beach holiday in Aqaba.

Jordan